S4 FRIDAY, JULY 5, 2019 CHINA DAILY S1 Ecology and Wuyishan economic focuses growth go Fujian puts environment before economic gain on cultural hand-in-hand tourism Area leading the way as China’s first national-level ecological civilization pilot zone By YUAN SHENGGAO By YUAN SHENGGAO Zhong Liangsheng, a beekeeper Wuyishan, a city in East China’s in Wuping county in Longyan Fujian province, is developing city of Fujian province, said he green tourism to attract more visi- believes ecological protection tors and promote high-quality local and economic development are development. not contradictory to each other. The city’s tourism revenue Instead, the two can create mutu- reached about 30.8 billion yuan al benefits. ($4.49 billion) last year. But most “The green landscape is our big- tourists only visit for a one-day gest gold mine,” he said. tour of the city, spending that time Zhong’s bee cooperative reaped on activities related to tea, a pillar over 10 million yuan ($1.45 mil- industry in Wuyishan. lion) in annual output value. Wuyishan plans to upgrade its As a veteran from the army, tourism industry by transforming Zhong was first hired as forest from sightseeing to leisure tours, ranger in Wuping back in 1998. from tea-focused tourism to cultur- His job was to dissuade and report al experiences, and also enlarging unlawful felling. the traveling area across the city. Seven projects, with an invest- ment of 5.68 billion yuan, kicked off last month. That involved an international tourist resort, high- The green landscape end hotels, shopping facilities and is our biggest more, to upgrade the local tourism industry. gold mine.’’ The Jialong International Tour- Zhong Liangsheng, a beekeeper ist Resort, for example, will have a in Wuping county giant panda base, a circus park, a With lush vegetation, Bihu Park in Zhangzhou city is a demonstration of the local government’s efforts to improve ecology. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY zoo and an animal-themed hotel. The 466.6-hectare large resort will In 2001, Wuping became one By YUAN SHENGGAO province with a mark of 75.43 zone. their performance to an ecology- instance, cultivating medical combine entertainment, shopping, of the first counties in China to points and Chongqing municipal- Since then, Fujian has carried based auditing system. herbs, fruit shrubs and fungi, as catering, education and perfor- conduct forestry reformation and n a report on ecological ity with 74.81 points. out 38 reforms for this purpose. The auditing will examine their 75.73 well as raising animals like chick- mance. allow local farmers to operate tree development of China’s Fujian’s coastal city of Xiamen Eighteen practices have been stud- performance in their duties to points ens and goats. The Wuyistar Tea Park will orga- farms around their homes. various regions, which was ranked No 1 among all the Chi- ied and copied by Chinese regions. maintain the local ecology. The mark that makes Fujian According to Liu Ziyin, an official nize activities such as academic To increase income for the released by the Chinese nese cities in this report, with a One is a tighter assessment of the “To grow at the cost of ecology No 1 in the Chinese Academy at the local forestry administration, study, tea ceremony training, as family and bring wealth to more IAcademy of Engineering in April, mark of more than 80 points. This environmental effect caused by and the environment is no longer of Engineering report for renting the tree farms is another well as industrial and agricultural people, Zhong established a bee Fujian was ranked the first with a means its ecological performance investment projects. our approach to development,” said ecological development option of the government. sightseeing. cooperative in 2011, where some mark of 75.73 points. has reached a world-leading level. In Guangze county in the north- Zhao Hongyu, head of the Lifang performance in China “We are still exploring new Guo Yuanhai, deputy gen- 300 workers raise bees and sell The report was based on surveys In a recent survey made by west of Fujian, the government of township government. approaches, for better protection eral manager of Wuyistar, said: honey to customers in Fujian, Bei- of the regions’ level of “ecological the State Forestry and Grassland Lifang township recently rejected a She added that the township meant that logging was forbidden, of both the ecology and farmers’ “Though the output value of tea jing and Hong Kong. civilization” — a Chinese expres- Administration, Fujian’s forest cov- project proposed by a businessman will welcome businesses to invest according to law. rights,” added Yang Yongquan, in the company has reached over “Good ecology is the best sion for performance in ecological erage reached 66.8 percent. It grew outside the county. in such eco-friendly industries as In Wuping, there are a total of another local forestry official. 100 million yuan, selling tea only resources for companies like development — during 2015-17. 0.85 percentage points from the The businessman intended to modern agriculture and tourism. 5,600 hectares of tree farms includ- To aid the government’s applica- is not enough. Instead, we should ours,” he said. The ecological civilization index previous survey and has ranked build an eel cultivation farm valued Another reform initiative is the ed in various reserves for ecological tion of new measures for develop- develop a leisure tour area based Wuping county now has about is a weighted average index number first in the country for 40 years in at 30 billion yuan ($4.38 million) From left: Tourists take a rafting tour on a river in the Jiulongtan scenic area in Taining county. DUAN CHANGZHENG / FOR CHINA DAILY government purchase of tree farms’ protection. Logging is not allowed. ing the Fujian ecological pilot zone, on experience of the tea culture.” 216,000 hectares of forest land of 17 subindices including: ecologi- a row. near the Xixi Stream, a tributary Primary school students are taught about beekeepers’ work during a study tour in Jian’ou city. WEI YONGQING / FOR CHINA DAILY rights. To compensate the farm owners, nine local universities and research Millennium Resort Wuyishan, and forest coverage reached 79.7 cal environment, air quality, water The ranks of Fujian and Xiamen of Fujian’s largest river Minjiang. In Yanqian township, Wuping the local government purchased institutions forged an ecological one of the luxurious hotels, intro- percent. quality, per capital GD, pollution are hailed by locals as proof of the The township government’s county, Liang Hancai was the own- the operational rights of the affect- civilization think tank in Novem- duced a top-level management As a national forest economy control, coverage of green plants province’s achievements in devel- appraisal deemed the project er of a tree farm. He could make ed farms. ber 2018. team from the headquarters of the demonstration base, Wuping and total area of natural reserves. oping a national-level ecological likely to affect the water environ- an annual net profit of more than “The purchase is about 22,500 The think tank will use the mem- brand. encourages farmers to join forest- The report said a mark of 80 civilization pilot zone. ment. The investment proposal was WE ARE stILL EXPLORING NEW appROacHES, FOR BEttER 100,000 yuan by selling timber and yuan a hectare and the price is bers’ research to conduct more The resort hotel invested by Shi- related business, such as planting, points meant a performance on par In June 2016, Fujian was denied. PROTEctION OF BOTH THE ECOLOGY AND faRMERS’ RIGHts.’’ other related products. acceptable,” Liang said. systematic and feasible studies to mao Group, is expected to intro- breeding, products’ processing with a world-leading level. Fujian’s approved by the central govern- Guangze county’s government Yang Yongquan, official at the forestry bureau in Wuping county However, in 2015 an area of more He added that he can continue help the government in decision- duce the local natural landscape and sightseeing. performance is close to that. ment as the country’s first national- leaders, as well as officials in the than 30 hectares in his farm was to utilize or develop the under- making, according to its founding into its decoration and design, Fujian province is continuing Fujian is followed by Zhejiang level ecological civilization pilot rest of Fujian, are required to link included in a nature reserve. This forest resources in the farm. For declaration. according to Wang Yuansheng, its reforms on forestry-related director of the city’s development, policies, to better protect ecology reform and technology bureau. and boost the regional economy. The Wufu town of Wuyishan has The aim is to balance ecological Green revolution turning counties’ fortunes around Protecting ecosystem with environment-friendly policies become a hot spot for investors reservation with economic devel- in the tourism industry, as eight opment, an official from the pro- cultural tourism-related projects vincial forestry bureau said. By LIANG KAiyAN pany to conserve water in a bid to help on UNESCO’s world heritage list. The By SONG MENGXING entities involving professional for- Statistics showed the province and 12 agricultural tourism-relat- More methods will be released control soil erosion. district has combined soil erosion pre- estry cooperatives and household planted 473,000 hectares of trees on ed projects have been operational to solve challenges, which include After decades of afforestation 10 With the company’s help, the Shibi vention with development of tour- Mountains and rivers are com- tree farms. 473,000 the mountains and 14,200 hectares there. the scattering of forestry resourc- efforts, Changting county in the south- million yuan township adopted a new type of envi- ism facilities.