Writing a New Picture of Beautiful China -- The Story of General Secretary Xi Jinping Leading the Construction of Ecological Civilization Xi Jinping

August 15, 2023, is the first National Ecological Day.

To make the sky bluer, the earth greener, and the water clearer for our motherland.In Shandong, it is emphasized to solidly promote the protection of the Yellow River and ensure its safety; Observing the ecological environment and water quality of the Wujiang River in Guizhou; Concerned about the protection of Guilin's mountains and waters above the Li River; On the snowy plateau, remind us to effectively protect the ecology of the third pole of the Earth

White necked cranes photographed in the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve in Shandong Province. Shen Jizhong

People will not betray the green mountains, and the green mountains will not betray them. This profound green transformation has laid a solid foundation and pointed out the direction for the construction of a beautiful China, the harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, and the sustainable development of the Chinese nation.

Green Road: "Green waters and mountains are like mountains of gold and silver."

The distant mountains are like Dai, the flowing water is babbling, and the bamboo forest is swaying... Strolling through Yucun Village in Anji, Zhejiang, the varying shades of greenery gradually unfold before our eyes.

Tourists are visiting Yucun Village in Anji, Zhejiang. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Weng Xinyang

"This year's business has been particularly good," Pan Chunlin, the owner of Chunlin Villa, said happily as he greeted the guests. "From relying on the mountains to eating them, to relying on the rich mountains to raise them, we truly realize that green mountains and clear waters are our source of happiness."

More than 20 years ago, due to the development of the "stone economy", the mountains in Yucun Village became bald, and the water became "soy sauce soup". After careful consideration, the villagers decided to change their way of life and successively shut down mines and cement plants, exploring how to live a good life without damaging the environment.

Nowadays, relying on a good ecological environment, the rural tourism industry in Yucun Village is thriving, and the bamboo forest carbon sink has enabled the village to sell money through air. Yucun Village has embarked on a sustainable development path of ecological beauty, industrial prosperity, and people's prosperity.

Time flies like a shuttle.

The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China incorporated the construction of ecological civilization into the overall layout of the "Five in One" socialist cause with Chinese characteristics. China is firmly committed to the path of ecological civilization construction in the new era.

Yibin, Sichuan, is known as the first city on the Yangtze River for thousands of miles. The Minjiang River and Jinsha River intersect here, and the Yangtze River was originally called the "Yangtze River". The distant mountains are verdant, the river is flowing, and the words "jointly protect and not engage in large-scale development" on the shore are particularly prominent.

The scenery of Sanjiangkou in Yibin City, Sichuan Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Xi

Local officials reported that Yibin City also faced the problem of "chemical engineering surrounding the river and pollution surrounding the city". In recent years, measures have been taken to continuously improve the ecological environment of the coastline, such as eliminating high energy consuming and polluting enterprises, closing small paper mills, shutting down riverside sand mining sites, and reducing sewage discharge.

At the Three Gorges Reservoir Area Water and Soil Conservation and Environment Research Station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chongqing, the scientific researchers of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Chengdu Mountain Institute carried out relevant monitoring on the fluctuating zone of the reservoir area. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Wei

The concept of "joint efforts for major protection and no major development" has deeply rooted in people's hearts, and measures such as industrial transformation and upgrading, coastal improvement, and the "ten-year fishing ban" are being implemented and taking effect... The ecological environment protection and economic and social development of the Yangtze River have undergone historic and turning changes, reproducing a clear river and green mountains on both sides.

Ecological priority and green development are also reshaping and changing people's lives.

Not long ago, a special reply inspired the garbage sorting volunteers in Jiaxing Road Street, Hongkou District, Shanghai.

Here, several young people are exchanging ideas on promoting community waste classification. A young man told the General Secretary that participating in public welfare activities is a new fashion for young people.

Eight months later, on July 1, 2019, the Shanghai Municipal Regulations on the Management of Domestic Waste came into effect.

In the Aijia Haoting community of Jiaxing Road Street, Hongkou District, Shanghai, garbage sorting volunteers provide services during the delivery period. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying

Five years have passed, and now in Shanghai, the entire city's household waste has been treated in a harmless manner. It has become a habit for more and more citizens to consciously classify garbage. The volunteers wrote a letter reporting their hard-earned achievements to the General Secretary, expressing their determination to contribute to promoting the flowering and fruiting of garbage classification on a larger scale.

Green mountains and clear waters are natural and ecological wealth, as well as social and economic wealth.

The tea trees are verdant, and the tea aroma is leisurely. In the Yanzike thousand mu ecological tea garden in Xingcun Town, Mount Wuyi City, Fujian Province, soybeans are planted among the green tea trees. By autumn, these bean seedlings will be buried in place and turned into organic fertilizer.

The General Secretary emphasized the need to coordinate the development of tea culture, tea industry, and tea technology, and to adhere to the direction of green development.

Yanzike Green Ecological Tea Garden, Xingcun Town, Mount Wuyi City, Fujian Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Kehong

"The practice of ecological tea gardens has been recognized by the General Secretary, and we have been more motivated." Speaking of the scene at that time, the tea garden manager Yang Wenchun still remembers it. He introduced that the planting mode without pesticides has become a consensus among local tea farmers, "with good ecology, better tea flavor, and higher prices. Holding onto the 'golden rice bowl' of green mountains and clear waters, and having more confidence in increasing income and becoming rich."

Green is the background color for high-quality development.

Action taken: "Let the people truly feel the improvement of ecological environment quality"

The breeze is gentle, and birds are chirping. The morning mist has not yet dissipated, and Dianchi Lake and the citizens of Kunming who came for morning exercises woke up together.

Tourists are boating and relaxing in Xiaoyu Village, Shangsuan Town, Jinning District, on the south bank of Dianchi Lake. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Xinbo

Dianchi Lake, a "highland pearl," was once one of the most heavily polluted lakes in China. The locals introduced that the blue-green algae on the lake surface used to be like a layer of green paint, "mice can run on it, and even stones thrown into the lake cannot sink.".

As early as 2008, when he went to Yunnan for research, he inspected the Dianchi Lake pollution control project and emphasized that promoting economic development is a political achievement, and preserving green mountains and waters is a scientific direction for greater political achievements.

In the 2020 inspection, several water samples were prepared locally, including those from Dianchi Lake, as well as those from Erhai Lake and Fuxian Lake, which General Secretary has been concerned about.

Inspect and inquire in detail one by one.

Implementing source control and pollution control, restoring ecological wetlands, and rectifying illegal constructions along the coast... Today, Dianchi Lake has removed the five categories of inferior hats, with clear waves rippling, seagulls soaring high, and the brilliance of the pearl gradually reappearing.

"Having taken a detour, I have a clearer understanding of the next direction." Chen Jing, Director of the Dianchi Lake Management Bureau in Kunming, sighed. Protecting Dianchi Lake has become a consensus. In the past, there were companies that violated regulations and made changes, but now companies are actively asking "whether this construction meets the requirements for Dianchi Lake protection.".

Haohao clear water, clear sky, and a good ecological environment are the most universal welfare of people's livelihood, which is what people hope for.

Heavy pollution weather occurred frequently in the autumn and winter seasons in the northern region, and air pollution seriously affected people's production and life.

In late February 2014, Beijing and other places were shrouded in heavy haze, lasting for up to 7 days.

A few days later, the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference will open in Beijing.

The National People's Congress representative from the Shanghai environmental protection system replied, "Shanghai has also made great efforts and is fully promoting implementation."

Words must be promised, everything depends on human actions.

About 37 million rural residents in the northern region bid farewell to the smoky and fiery coal stoves, and industries such as coal-fired power and steel have implemented ultra-low emission renovations. Motor vehicle emission standards have become stricter... Now, after years of effort, there are fewer haze and more blue skies, and China has become the country with the fastest improvement in air quality in the world.

For long-term planning and for future generations.

In August 2022, at Donghu Forest Park in Jinzhou, Liaoning, the General Secretary conducted an on-site inspection of the ecological environment and inquired in detail about pollution prevention and control measures, river water quality, and fish recovery.

Ecological environment protection is the greatest concern of the country, a development issue, a livelihood issue, and more importantly, a political issue.

On the evening of May 18th this year, at the Datang Furong Garden in Xi'an, Shaanxi, the opening ceremony of the China Central Asian People's Culture and Art Year and the China Central Asian Youth Art Festival was being performed.

On the big screen, the four treasures of the Qinling Mountains, including crested ibis, giant pandas, golden monkeys, and antelopes, are displayed one after another. Birds, beasts, insects, and fish inhabit freely, and the beautiful ecological landscape is pleasing to the eye.

Just a few years ago, at the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains, over a thousand illegally built villas were like ecological scars, eroding the green at the foot of the mountain.

With the launch of the special rectification action, 1194 illegally built villas have been disposed of in accordance with the law, and the greening work has also begun.

A firm attitude and thunderous intensity.

The Way of Symbiosis: "Man and nature are a community of life."

This is an important section of the ancient Guanzhong Plain leading to the Sichuan Basin's ancient Shu Road, with the best preserved ancient artificial planting post road ancient cypress group to date.

For thousands of years, what has been passed down along with ancient cypresses is the consistent pursuit of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature by the Chinese nation.

He made a directive: "Wetland protection is an important part of ecological protection. In order to build an ecological province in our province, we must attach importance to the protection of wetlands."

The "Ecological Defense War" of the Minjiang River Estuary Wetland has been launched since then:

In 2003, the Minjiang River Estuary Wetland County-level Nature Reserve was established, and the reclamation projects that had already been launched were immediately revoked; In 2007, the wetland was upgraded to a provincial-level nature reserve; In 2013, it was upgraded to a national level nature reserve; In 2015, it was approved to build a national wetland park

In comparison to past and present photos, the wetland is clearly visible as "people retreat and green enter": at the beginning of this century, there were breeding farms and fish ponds everywhere, presenting a large area of black; Nowadays, green patches form a surface, complementing the blue ocean.

A group of swans flew over the wetlands at the mouth of the Minjiang River. Photo by Wei Peiquan, journalist from Xinhua News Agency

On site exploration is even more stunning: the vast expanse of water, the lush green grass, and the vast blue sky with thousands of birds gathered together. Rare and endangered birds such as the Chinese crested tern, spoon billed sandpiper, and black faced spoonbill have reappeared here... After 21 years of hard work, the wetlands at the mouth of the Minjiang River have gone from "endangered" to "reborn".

Deeply understand that "humans and nature are a community of life", and deeply practice the path of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

By the way of nature, nurture the birth of all things. This is the meaning of Chinese path to modernization, and also the Chinese wisdom of the integration of heaven and man, and the cultivation of all things.

Hetao Irrigation District, Dengkou County, Bayannur City, Inner Mongolia. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Peng Yuan

On the first day, go to Wuliangsuhai to see the water; Then go to the modern agriculture demonstration park on the south bank of Wuliangsuhai to see the fields.

The next day, go to the state-owned Xinhua Forest Farm in Linhe District to see the forest; Then go to the information monitoring center for water quantity in Hetao Irrigation District to inspect the canal.

Focusing on Hainan, the tropical rainforest is deep and lush.

Tourists are visiting Xiannv Lake in the Wuzhishan area of Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Liyun

During the trip, General Secretary was full of interest in the animals and plants around him, occasionally stopping to observe the trees around him, listening to the sounds of nature, and also thinking about the endangered animal gibbons.

"The General Secretary said, 'Hainan's tropical rainforest belongs not only to Hainan, but to the people of the whole country, to the earth, and is a national treasure.' We feel full of enthusiasm and need to turn General Secretary's instructions into motivation," said Zhong Shijin, Director of the Wuzhishan Branch of the Park Management Bureau.

Zhong Shijin introduced that over the past year, the smart management center of the park has been put into operation. Fire prevention, forest resource monitoring, monitoring of flora and fauna... With just a simple click of the mouse, data can be transmitted anytime.

At present, China has introduced a plan to select 49 national park candidate areas nationwide, and by 2035, the world's largest national park system will be basically built.

All things receive their own harmony for life, and each receives their own nourishment for completion.

In Yichun, the city of "Lin Du", the story of "opposition between people and forests" and "harmony between people and forests" is being written.

Logging was once the economic pillar here. In 2013, facing the reality of almost depletion of exploitable forest resources, Yichun completely stopped commercial logging of natural forests. Confusion follows - how can we live without chopping down trees?

At Liu Yangshun's home, the General Secretary discussed the development history of the forest farm and calculated the income and expenditure accounts with the family, encouraging everyone to "find new ways" after the transformation of the forest area.

The revival of greenery is just right. In the past, lumberjacks began planting red pine, setting ecological protection red lines, establishing various nature reserves, and resolutely implementing projects that damage the environment

At the Red Pine Seedling Breeding Base of Yichun Forest Industry Group in Heilongjiang, staff are caring for light substrate Red Pine seedlings. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Tao

The way out is under the forest. Relying on the forests scattered throughout the mountains and fields, the local people have started a forest economy, and industries such as blueberries and edible mushrooms have emerged. Stopping logging for ten years, with afforestation