by Xinhua writer Zhu Shaobin

BEIJING, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- "Protect the ecological environment, and it will reward you." This statement by Chinese President Xi Jinping is vividly exemplified by the people of Anji County in east China's Zhejiang Province, where a shift in perception has successfully driven a green transition.

Locals recall a time in the 1980s and 1990s when paper mills stained creeks reddish-brown, mining left the mountains barren, and wind-blown rubbish littered the landscape.

With a population of around 480,000, Anji has transformed from a region plagued by environmental degradation to a refreshing eco-tourism destination known for its fresh air, clear waters and green mountains.

These sweeping changes in the local geographic and economic landscape were made possible after Xi, then Party chief of Zhejiang Province, made an inspection tour to the county's Yucun Village on Aug. 15, 2005.

On that day, he conducted a field survey, visited the homes of local farmers, and held discussions with local officials over economic growth and environmental protection. As a matter of fact, the village decided to close quarries and cement plants and develop tourism to heal the environment in 2003, but the decision led to a decline in household income in the initial years.

During his inspection tour, Xi said that ecological resources were the area's most valuable assets, noting that the shutdown of these sites was "a wise move."

"Don't expect to promote economic growth at the cost of the environment because such economic growth doesn't equal development," said Xi, as he put forward for the first time the concept of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets."

This concept reinforced Anji's commitment to an environment-friendly path to growth and, over the years, has become a cornerstone of Xi's thought on ecological civilization.

In just two decades, Anji has undergone a significant green transformation, leading to a thriving economy driven by rural tourism and bamboo processing and white tea industries. According to 2023 statistics, the per capita disposable income of its rural population had increased by five times since 2005.

To raise public awareness and encourage action to protect the ecological environment, China's national legislature designated Aug. 15 as National Ecology Day last year.

In the run-up to the second National Ecology Day which falls on Thursday, the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council publicized a set of guidelines to ramp up green transition in all aspects of economic and social development.

The guidelines set quantitative targets for 2030, including developing an energy conservation and environmental protection industry valued at 15 trillion yuan (about 2.1 trillion U.S. dollars) and increasing the proportion of non-fossil energy consumption to about 25 percent of total energy use.

A comprehensive green transition in economic and social development was highlighted in a resolution adopted at the third plenum of the 20th CPC Central Committee last month.

The resolution listed priorities for further reforming the system of ecological conservation, such as improving mechanisms for green and low-carbon development, specifying the requirements of implementing region-specific environmental management systems, improving the trans-regional compensation mechanism for ecological conservation, and implementing fiscal, tax, financial, investment, and pricing policies as well as standards to support green and low-carbon development.

Green and low-carbon development has been high on the agenda of Xi's local inspection tours. In May, while visiting Shandong Province, Xi inspected the city of Rizhao, where a 28-km-long "sunshine corridor" adorned with greenery and white beaches stretches along the coastline, providing locals with opportunities for sightseeing, cycling and recreation.

Seeing people thoroughly enjoy a green and low-carbon lifestyle, Xi said that a good ecological environment brings true happiness.

During his trip in June to Qinghai Province, home to Qinghai Lake, China's largest inland saltwater lake, Xi urged the province to accelerate its development into a world-class salt lake industrial hub, a national highland for the clean energy industry, an international eco-tourism destination, and a supplier of green and organic agricultural and livestock products.

Remarkable changes have taken place due to Xi's commitment to green development. Official data show that China has witnessed the world's fastest improvement in air quality since 2012, with the average density of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in cities at the prefecture level and above dropping to 29 micrograms/cubic meter as of 2023. In major cities, days with heavy pollution have decreased by 93 percent.

Efforts to combat desertification have led to reductions in both desertified and sandy areas, while carbon emission intensity decreased by over 35 percent from 2012 to 2023.

The proportion of good-quality surface water bodies nationwide reached 87.9 percent by 2023, close to the level in developed countries.

Dianchi Lake in southwest China's Yunnan Province serves as another example in this regard. Once heavily polluted, the lake has seen improvements in water quality and a resurgence in tourism thanks to ecosystem restoration efforts. During his inspection of the lake in January 2020, Xi emphasized the need for persistent, comprehensive and systematic clean-up efforts, along with controlling the sources of pollution.

As the world's second-largest economy makes steady progress in ecological advancement, it is open to cooperation in promoting the global green transition.

In a congratulatory letter to the Green Development Forum of Shanghai Cooperation Organization Countries in July, Xi stressed that China, committed to the philosophy that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, has unswervingly pursued a development model featuring improved production, better living standards and healthy ecosystems.

China hopes to strengthen communication and cooperation in the field of green development with all parties in order to boost the sustainable economic and social development of all countries and promote harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, Xi noted in the letter. Enditem

(Cheng Yunjie and Zhang Xuan from Beijing, Zhao Peiran from Kunming contributed to the story)