New plan puts city on track for success

By Yuan Shenggao | China Daily | Updated: 2019-07-15 07:37

Crystal clear pictures of Xiling Snow Mountain, taken from downtown Chengdu more than 100 kilometers away, became a hit on social media this year.

"Tang Dynasty (618-907) poet Du Fu said the everlasting white snow on Xiling could be viewed from the windows of his residence. And I thought this was something I could never expect from the same viewpoint, considering the many skyscrapers and air pollution in modern-day Chengdu," said Qiu Han, the photographer of the pictures.

But the ever-improving environment has allowed Chengdu residents to have more blue skies, white clouds and even be able to see the snowy mountains far in the distance, Qiu added.

Chengdu's endeavors toward low-carbon, environmentally friendly development has made this possible, local officials said.

New plan puts city on track for success

In 2018, the city continued to implement 10 measures for improving air quality and launched a series of projects to implement them.

As a result, the number of days with good or excellent air quality reached 251 last year, an increase of 16 days from 2017. This was the highest level during the past six years.

The steadily improving environment also helped Chengdu win the BlueSky Award for Global Pioneering City in the field of low carbon, a program initiated by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization during the sixth Shenzhen International Low Carbon City Forum in September last year.

Air pollution control is only one part of Chengdu's efforts to develop a green and low-carbon city.

The city is endeavoring to become a role model for sustainable urban development in China and in the world, with a raft of measures to develop low-carbon urban infrastructure, industrial system and clean energies, according to local officials.

Chengdu's newly released comprehensive urban planning highlights the construction of a green development system to provide people with a better place to live.

For instance, a 1,275-square-kilometer forest park has been planned in the Longquan Mountain region. Called the green heart of the city, the area is 1.7 times the size of the central area of Chengdu and it is said to be the largest urban forest park in the world, according to local officials.

They said the city government also plans to build the world's longest urban green trail to link all the city's ecological zones, parks and gardens.

Another measure that the city is taking to protect its environment is the rational zoning of ecological, agricultural, industrial and residential areas. It is stipulated that 78 percent of the city's land should be reserved for ecological and agricultural development.

Other measures include encouraging residents to take public transportation to reduce emissions and increasing the public's awareness of low-carbon lifestyles.

According to the city's 2019 plan for low-carbon development, Chengdu's energy-consumption ratio in GDP and carbon dioxide emissions should by reduced by 2.5 percent and 3 percent this year. And the use of clean energy should increase to more than 60 percent of total consumption.