Beautifying the countryside

The construction of a beautiful countryside has been set as an important goal in the country's rural revitalization strategy. The strategy, mapped out by the top authorities in January, lists a beautiful countryside, competitive modern agriculture, and farmers' prosperity as its three major goals.

The central authorities released a three-year action plan in February aimed at improving the rural living environment and raising villagers' awareness of environmental protection.

Local governments, therefore, should have strengthened their efforts to take real and viable measures to resolve the long-standing rural environment issues for the sake of rural residents' wellbeing. However, this is not the case in some regions. Recently, media reports revealed a series of worsening environmental issues such as the dumping of industrial waste and other garbage by local factories near some villages in Shaanxi and other provinces, which pose a serious hazard to the health of local residents.