XIII. Ecology and Environmental Protection

The eco-city campaign deepened. By end of 2015, there were 9,782.1 hectares of green land, among which were 2,478.7 hectares of green park land. The per capita green park space hit 13.9 m2 and the city’s green coverage rate reached 43.1%. Besides, green lanes were built alongside the city’s elevated highways, their extension lines, Lihua Rd., Guanghua Rd., and Da Guangming Rd in 2015. And the Hengtang River Wetland Park and Baidang River Green Land were also completed. Efforts to plan and build model villages were also underway. For instance, 7 local villages were approved to be Beautiful Countryside Model Villages and 8 other villages were on their way to become such model villages. Plus, living conditions in rural areas continued to improve. Changzhou received the National Award for Best Living Environment in 2015.

The local environment continued to improve. In 2015, 1,270 air pollution prevention and treatment projects and 356 water cleaning projects were completed. The year also saw 258 days of good air quality, an increase of 22 days in comparison to 2014. The good air quality rate stood at 70.7%. The PM2.5 concentration in urban areas stood at 59 mcg/m3 with a year-on-year decrease of 18.1%. Water from drinking water sources remained 100% up to standard. And 74.3% of surface water in the city was above the Class-III water quality.