Cities in Northeast China's Liaoning province have made concerted efforts to ensure the natural environment remains untouched,and where it has been eroded in the past, restored to its former glory.
Tieling, a city along the Liaohe River in the north of Liaoning, has carried out preservation and ecosystem reconstruction projects and invested to help control and protect the ecology of the Liaohe River.
Between 2010 and 2018, the city invested 140 million yuan ($21 million) in treating 33 sections which present flood risks on the river's main flow and eight key bends.
The move has helped strengthen flood control on the Liaohe River and stabilized its banks, local officials said.
Since 2010, Tieling has invested 100 million yuan in six comprehensive water environment control projects on the Liaohe River, and has spent 84.17 million yuan implementing such projects on the river's major tributaries including the Sutai, Liangzi, Chaihe, Qinghe and Changgou rivers.
In 2020, Tieling is expected to preserve an area of 18,267 hectares of forest along the Liaohe River's main flow and key sections of its major branches, according to local officials.
Between 2011 and 2019, vegetation coverage in the forest preservation areas increased from 13.7 percent to more than 85 percent,according the bureau of water resources in Tieling.
By 2019, 100 percent of vegetation in the riverside area was restored,and the area of grassland and forest had increased by 368 percent and 19.5 percent, respectively.
The achievements in protecting the Liaohe River can also be seen in the city of Anshan.
Designated as one of four demonstration zones for ecological conservation in the Liaohe River area by the provincial government, the Tai'an Liaohe cultural tourism resort in Anshan is a destination for ecotourism.
The resort spans 40 square kilometers surrounding the Liaohe River. It has built 6.67 hectares of wetland parks, 520 hectares of forests and 113.33 hectares of wildflowers.
These projects represent the characteristics of the Liaohe River's culture and show the river's development history as well inject vitality into the area, local officials said. The tourism area is home to 329 types of plants including reeds and cattails, and 258 rare birds such as cranes and egrets.
The resort is dedicated to developing tourism based on the harmony between humans and nature in an effort to show off the charms of the Liaohe River and promote Anshan to more visitors, local officials said.
Visitors take photos among sunflowers at the Tai'an Liaohe cultural tourism resort in Anshan. CHINA DAILY
