By Zhang Yan

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The Jiangxi Model of‘Beautiful China’

By Zhang Yan

Poyang Lake Wetland， Jiangxi Province

After joining with Hanshui River in Hubei Province， the Yangtze River turns southeast and enters Jiangxi， a Province in Southeast China. Here， it meets Poyang Lake， the country’s largest freshwater lake. Each year， the water that flows through Poyang Lake to the Yangtze River exceeds the total volume of the Yellow River， Huaihe River and Haihe River （China’s three other large rivers） combined. that makes environmental protection in Jiangxi Province hugely significant in ethorts to maintain the ecological health of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River-and even the environmental health of the whole country.

Jiangxi is a remarkable spot on the green ecological corridor of the Yangtze River. Recently， Jiangxi increased its investment in environmental protection and development， creating a brand reflecting its pristine landscapes and beautiful ecological environment as the province’s main advantage. In 2016， Jiangxi will invest 8.15 billion yuan （US$1.25 billion） in energy conservation and environmental protection. It will also make great ethorts to promote environmental conservation， so as to build a Jiangxi brand of “Beautiful China.”

Cities with Green Mountains and Rivers

Nanchang， the capital of Jiangxi Province， is permeated with green. Greenbelts and lakes are scattered around downtown area. Red camellia flowers look fresh in the bright sunshine.

With forest coverage of 63.1 percent， the air quality in Jiangxi was rated good or excellent 90.1 percent of the time in 2015. Nearly 82 percent of the surface water at monitoring stations was up to or above standard rates.

Before the Chinese lunar New Year in February 2016， President Xi Jinping visited Jiangxi.

“Green ecology is the biggest wealth，advantage and brand of Jiangxi，” Xi said.“It should be well preserved. Ethorts should be made in environmental management，so as to create a Jiangxi Model of ‘Beautiful China’ -that is to coordinate economic development with ecological conservation， so that the two complement each other.”

Jiangxi has five national level forest cities （a concept of green development），namely， Nanchang， Yichun， Xinyu，Wuzhou and Ji’an. the urban population of those cities enjoy a life far from smog and dust. The clean environment has become a capital resource for Jiangxi to push in its construction of a powerful， tourism-oriented province. Meanwhile， with plenty of scenic spots and China’s biggest freshwater lake of Poyang， Jiangxi is among the first group of provinces that has been designated one of the national pilot demonstration zones of ecological conservation.

Lu Xinshe， the governor of Jiangxi Province， takes great pride in Jiangxi’s friendly environment.

“Jiangxi will put forth efforts to set an example in ecological conservation，” Lu said. “We will make environmental protection the first priority. We will strengthen and improve our ecological advantages，and exert ourselves to reinforce ecological conservation and development with major ecological projects， so as to outline our ecological advantage and take the lead in ecological and environmental quality.”

Pan Changkun， the Deputy Director of Jiangxi Provincial Department of Finance，said that increased prioritization of the environment will be reflected in the provincial budget.

“In our 2016 budget， the expenditure on energy saving and environmental protection will increase by 41.9 percent over that of 2015，” Pan said. “The provincial budget has set up a special fund， amounting to 2.58 billion yuan （US$396 million）， for ecological conservation.”

The new fund will support environmental protection efforts in the following six ways:

1. To reduce the emissions of major pollutants；

2. To reinforce the environmental pollution treatment in rural areas；

3. To improve the sewage treatment capacity；

4. To strengthen the protection of forests；

5. To enhance the protection of water Resources；

6. To improve the monitoring and surveillance the environment， and law enforcement.

Better Life with ‘Ecology +’

Wan Liyun lives in a village called Changshui in Jiangxi Province. this village is known as the first village in China implementing new forest reforms.

Wan’s hometown is also the home to thousand-year-old Chinese yew， a type of coniferous shrub. Wan found that this unique resource is quite valuable. In 2005，he set up the first Chinese yew bonsai cultivation and production base in Changshui Village. In 2015， he opened a Chinese yewthemed restaurant， developing dishes with bark and roots of the Chinese yew as the main ingredients. Wan has averaged a profit of 2 million yuan （US$396，000） each year since he opened his business. His business also led 40 nearby households to prosperity.

“Keeping the trees in the mountains is in our own interest. It’s better than saving money in the banks，” said Yu Jingbing， secretary of the village Party committee. there are plenty of investment opportunities for locals， including forestry， ecological tourism and rural home inns， Yu added.

“the ‘green bowl’ is a ‘golden bowl’，” Yu said.

Like Wan， more and more people in Jiangxi have integrated “ecology +” into local industrial development to improve the development of the green economy， thus reinforcing its competitiveness.

Qiang Wei， Secretary of CPC Jiangxi Provincial Committee， has been quick to see the benefits of this “ecology +” model.

“We will build Jiangxi into a beautiful，livable homeland with beautiful towns， villages and scenic spots， a tourist destination with ample job opportunities. We will de-velop ecological tourism and health related industries. Our brand of green development will become an envy of the whole country and the world，” Qiang said.

In recent years， Jiangxi has promoted the transformation in industry for environmentally friendly production. They have made efforts to build a green agricultural system for featured quality agricultural products. They have also upgraded the service industry， particularly eco- tourism， elderly care and health-related industries.

At the same time， efforts have been made to enhance the public awareness of ecology + for the people of Jiangxi to live sustainable， green and low-carbon lives.

Green Road to Affluence

As one of the first groups of the national pilot demonstration zones of ecology conservation， the city of Gongqingcheng（Communist Youth League City in northern Jiangxi， known in the 1950s-60s as a pioneering city of the young intellectuals from Shanghai， now a pilot city of innovation） recently closed a number of polluting enterprises without modern technology. In turn， the city turned to high-tech start-up incubation and new technology industries. With the introduction of mobile-phone manufacturing， geothermal and air conditioning research and solar photo-voltaic businesses moving their operations to the area， the city saw operating revenues among local firms rise to 20 billion yuan（US$3 billion）.

In Jiangxi， 32 counties have been designated as ecological function areas，including Jing’an County， which are engaged in turning their ecological advantages into development advantages. Thirty-five counties and cities have been listed as key development zones， which will strive to develop strategic， emerging industries such as spaceflight， new energy and bio-medicine.

Jiangxi has also made ethorts to find its position in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative， engaging in projects with neighboring provinces to improve links between the cities along the Yangtze. In 2016， Jiangxi initiated a series of rural tourism activities with the theme of “Beautiful Chinese Dream in Jiangxi”.

Tourists enjoying the beauty of rape flowers in Wuyuan County， Jiangxi Province

Tourists drifting along the current of a glacier canyon of Lushan Mountain， Jiangxi Province

During China’s 13th Five-Year Plan（2016-2020）， Jiangxi will build 100 tourist towns. Meanwhile， work will be done to improve green development and raise 550，000 people out of poverty through tourism development. the province is also set to speed up construction of flood control works and incorporate water conservancy projects and environmental protection.

Building Eco-Yangtze River

The construction of the Yangtze River Economic Belt brought new opportunities to the green development of Jiangxi. To build the Yangtze River Economic Belt，protection of the river itself is the first priority. Jiangxi is expected to promote the coordinated development of economy and ecology along the river and the lakes and build key protection areas in the Yangtze River valley. All measures are essential if Jiangxi is to achieve scientific and ecologically friendly development.