12 | ADVERTORIAL Tuesday, September 17, 2019 CHINA DAILY Fujian focuses on high­quality development

Province’s balanced efforts paying dividends economically and environmentally

By YUAN SHENGGAO intelligent transformation and envi­ ronmental protection reform. South China’s Fujian province has At present, Fujian is cultivating devoted sustained effort to achieve industrial clusters for green devel­ high­quality economic development opment, promoting eco­industriali­ while preserving its natural envi­ zation and exploring new ways of ronment for the benefit of the whole high­quality development. society, local officials said. Data show that the current pro­ “Endowed with picturesque natu­ portion of installed capacity of clean ral scenery, Fujian is a good place to energy reached 55.5 percent, and live and travel. The province has the emerging industries have a good advanced infrastructure, rich momentum. The service industry resources, a friendly business envi­ has contributed more to economic ronment, and is a hotbed for innova­ growth than the secondary industry. tion and entrepreneurship,” said Fujian attaches great importance Tang Dengjie, governor of Fujian. to the promotion and application of Fujian was approved as a nation­ new energy vehicles and regards it al­level demonstration zone for eco­ as an important starting point for logical civilization in June 2016 and accelerating the transformation of the government has placed green new and old kinetic energy in the development as a key initiative in its province. Today, the two major agenda. development zones in northeastern The province has guided local Yunnan and southwestern Fujian governments to shift from focusing A photovoltaic power station covers the hills in Songxi county, Fuji­ Farmers pick tea leaves at a plantation in Fujian, a key production are committed to synergistic devel­ solely on economic growth to pay­ an province. LIN WENQIANG / FOR CHINA DAILY base for all kinds of tea. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY opment of the new energy automo­ ing equal attention to natural envi­ bile industry. ronment and high­quality According to data from the Fujian development, canceling the GDP facilities. In 2018, forest coverage in an’s high­quality growth. deepening cooperation and open­ grown considerably relying on the Provincial Department of Industry assessment indicators for 34 coun­ Fujian reached 66.8 percent, rank­ The province is boosting its more ing­up under China’s Belt and Road government’s policies to support and Information Technology, the ties. ing first in China for 40 consecutive environmentally friendly industries Initiative, Fujian is showing good financing and reduce the burden for total industrial chain value for new Changting county is a good exam­ years. Over 97 percent of days such as information technology, momentum in its high­quality enterprises. energy vehicles in the province ple of how the government is con­ recorded good air quality, with the new energy, new materials, biomed­ development. In 2018, the burden on real econ­ exceeded 20 billion yuan in 2018. trolling soil and water loss in average concentration of fine partic­ icine and the digital economy which By the end of 2018, Fujian’s for­ omy enterprises was reduced by Founded in 2011, battery maker southern Fujian by improving the ulates, also known as PM 2.5, covers internet of things, big data eign direct investment enterprises more than 70 billion yuan. The CATL is the only Chinese power bat­ quality of soil, water, air and the nat­ recorded at 26 micrograms per and artificial intelligence. and overseas branches had reached number of market players increased tery company that has entered the ural environment and establishing a cubic meter. In 2018, the province’s digital 2,594, with an agreed investment of by 807,000, an increase of 27.6 per­ international first­class car supplier systematic mechanism to restore Fujian’s GDP reached 3.58 trillion economy reached 1.42 trillion yuan, more than $32.3 billion. In the first cent. A total of 20 private enterpris­ system with wider international forests in mountain areas. yuan ($506.01 billion) in 2018, up an increase of 22.4 percent over the five months of this year, import and es in Fujian were selected by the All­ cooperation covering mainstream Fujian is also revamping the liv­ 8.3 percent year­on­year, ranking previous year. export trade between Fujian and China Federation of Industry and brands of commercial vehicles such ing environment in rural areas. The fifth across the nation for growth The added value of industrial countries and regions involved in Commerce to be on the list of the top as BMW, Daimler, Volkswagen, Jag­ province has built a full coverage of rate. In the first half of this year, the enterprises above designated size the BRI increased by 10.6 percent 500 Chinese private enterprises. uar Land Rover, Chrysler and Peu­ township waste transfer systems GDP growth rate reached 8.1 per­ increased by 9.1 percent and the year­on­year. The initiative as well For traditional industries produc­ geot Citroen. and treatment mechanism for cent. added value of high­tech industries as economic and trade cooperation ing clothing, food and machinery, In 2018, the global market share domestic garbage. Some 90 percent Ecological construction has led to soared 13.9 percent, of which the have strengthened opening­up and Fujian province has continuously of CATL was about 23 percent, rank­ of the villages have been equipped more sustainable development, electronic information industry stimulated regional economic reduced the intensity of land, ener­ ing first in the world for two consec­ with domestic sewage treatment which has laid a foundation for Fuji­ grew by 14.2 percent. Focusing on development. The real economy has gy and water consumption through utive years.

The Mulan River flood control system has become one of the successful ecological projects in Putian, Fujian.

animals. The village’s farm Preserving Quxi homestays become bustling at Region’s ecology benefits from forest growth holidays. In 2018, Quxi accepted 45,000 tourist visits and generated total By LIANG KAIYAN After years of development, the forest­ pays off for town’s tourism revenue of 5 million [email protected] ry plantation has upgraded its opera­ 1.8 yuan, up 15 percent year­on­ tions through cooperation with local million hectares year. Having planted trees for almost seven villages. Meiqiao village of Taining coun­ of trees have been planted in Fujian local residents Putian, a coastal city in cen­ decades, East China’s Fujian province ty is a beneficiary of the cooperation. by now tral Fujian, also achieved has become one of China’s biggest suc­ Last year, with the Taining State­ remarkable progress in ecologi­ cess stories in terms its sheer number of owned forestry plantation, the village By HAO NAN cal protection. It has won many forestry plantations. began to plant trees with the aid of sup­ Nanping city is home to Chinese fir trees. [email protected] honorary titles such as a city of After the War of Liberation (1946­49), port funds, technology and operation “In the late 1950s, the province author­ Ecology is parks, a city of forests and an the province had only two public forest­ management, said Li Qinglin, Party sec­ ity proposed to develop forestry planta­ Residents in Quxi town, ecological civilization city in ry plantations, said Chen Liangchang, retary of Meiqiao village. tions and built a base for fast­growing Liancheng county, Fujian Liancheng’s water systems. head of Fujian’s administration bureau “The land used to have no vegetation and high­yielding timber,” said Huang province see a rise in their advantage to The Mulan River is the for State­owned forest. due to capital shortage,” Li said. But now Jinhua, deputy head of the forestry. annual incomes, thanks to the “mother river” of Putian, but In the early period of the founding of it is home to an area of 17.8 hectares of At that time, the then professor of local government’s efforts to realize high­ also made the city the site of the People’s Republic of China, policy­ forest, he added. Nanjing Forestry University Chen Yuewu enhance conservation of riv­ quality devastating floods in the 1990s. makers proposed expanding tree To date, the forestry plantation has led led a team to conduct groundbreaking ers, farmlands and forests. But now, Mulan has become planting in the province led by the cit­ to 80 hectares of forests in the county, research in developing the first genera­ The conservation will lever­ development.” China’s first river to be managed ies of Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Nanping and with the size expected to top 1,000 hec­ tion Chinese fir seeds. age ecological advantages to Zhong Yongqiang, Party by a comprehensive plan that Zhangzhou, as part of its efforts to pro­ tares by 2020, local officials said. With Chen’s efforts, the forestry plan­ boost environmentally friend­ secretary of Liancheng covers its entire watersheds. mote the country’s ecological develop­ Zhang Ying, 86, who used to work for tation planted the first to the third gener­ ly industries, an official said. county in Fujian The flood control system on the ment, Chen said. another State­owned forestry planta­ ation of Chinese firs. “Ecology is Liancheng’s river has also become one of the Since 1957, the province has seen an tion in Jiangle county of Sanming city, The plantation is expected to plant the advantage to realize high­ ramped up its support of ecolog­ successful ecological projects in upsurge in forestry plantations, he add­ said that he and his colleagues had suf­ fourth generation first by 2020, accord­ quality development,” said ical agriculture and helped vil­ Putian. ed. fered from the poor environment in ing to Huang. Zhong Yongqiang, the county’s lagers to grow pears, horned In 2012, a national Mulan Riv­ Located in the northwest of Fujian years past. To date, the province has a total of 35 Party secretary. “We stick to melon, yacon and plums, which er water source conservation province, Taining county was approved “Staff members (of the plantation) all State­owned forestry plantations, con­ the conviction that lucid increased last year’s per capita area was built in Xianyou coun­ as a State­owned forestry plantation, and lived in shabby houses and ate just bam­ ducting seed breeding and the farms waters and lush mountains are income by more than 5,000 ty, a mountainous region locat­ Sun Guixiang, 71, has worked there since boo, rice and assorted vegetables,” Zhang contain 8,000 tree species, which have invaluable assets.” yuan ($702). ed in the upstream of the river. the 1960s. said. been used to produce 420,000 high­qual­ Quxi is the largest production By participating in the con­ The 18,025­hectare area aims to Sun has witnessed the great changes He said that from the 1950s to 1970s ity forest products. base of moso bamboo in Lian­ struction of Meihua Mountain mainly protect the forest ecosys­ over the past decades. “Women and men more than 100 people worked on forest­ Fujian has planted 1.8 million hectares cheng. In the past, farmers Scenic Area­related projects, tems and rare and endangered did the same jobs no matter how physi­ ry management and planted more than of trees that are expected to generate an relied on chemical fertilizers Quxi also enjoyed rapid devel­ species of wild fauna and flora. cal,” she said. “Each worker had to pull 3,000 hectares of new forest in that time. economic benefit of more than 11 billion and pesticides during planting, opment in its rural tourism sec­ To ensure water purity, 500 seedlings per day.” The Yangkou forestry plantation in yuan ($1.55 billion). which caused environmental tor. Putian has become the first area contamination. It has encouraged villagers to in Fujian to prohibit building “We have encouraged farm­ plant and sell organic agricul­ livestock and poultry farms ers to replace chemical fertiliz­ tural products, and run nongji­ near water sources. Authorities ers with organic fertilizers, and ale, or farm homestays, where have drawn lines in the banks of to resort to biological and physi­ tourists can eat locally produced the Mulan River’s main stream cal means rather than pesticides food and experience a more and tributaries to reconstruct to plant and manage moso bam­ rural lifestyle. vacated land and develop the boo,” said Deng Xinyuan, head Puxi village, for example, is a forest economy and other ser­ of the town. popular rural tourist destina­ vices. All villages under the admin­ tion due to an ecological forest As for livelihood projects, istration of Quxi signed a letter park covering an area of about Putian now has more than 100 of commitment to forbid herbi­ 8,000 square meters. Although greenways along rivers, parks cides in hopes of better protect­ the park is not significantly and mountains, offering resi­ ing water and the living large in area, it has various dents great places to explore Fudao skywalk in Fuzhou is the longest forest path in Wuyi mountain is a famous tourist attraction with a pic­ environment. The town has kinds of old trees and many wild and relax. China. CHEN CHENGCAI / FOR CHINA DAILY turesque view. CHEN QING / FOR CHINA DAILY