China's thriving ecological initiative transforms environment and economy

As a practitioner in the environmental protection industry, Huang Miansong, a national political adviser, is keenly aware of the transformative impacts of China's initiative to build an ecological civilization.

In a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on Tuesday, he highlighted how the initiative has transformed his hometown, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, and beyond.

The Qingshui River, which is dubbed as Ningxia's mother river and is located in Guyuan, was once plagued by sewage from urban villages and markets, rendering it black and malodorous, shared Huang, manager of smart environmental protection division of Capital Eco-Pro Group.

However, years of persistent ecological efforts have revitalized the water course, turning it into a clear, green and scenic waterway that now attracts numerous residents for leisure activities, he said.

Huang added that the changes have not only improved the local environment, but also heightened residents' environmental awareness, leading to overall enhancement in the ecological landscape and quality of life in Guyuan.

Due to the low ecological carrying capacity in Xihaigu area, where Guyuan is located, many people were relocated to the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains, he said.

Capitalizing on the area's unique conditions, he said these migrants, facilitated by local governments, have transformed nearly 26,670 hectares of desert land to lush vineyards, creating a thriving wine industry, he noted.

Currently, the wine grape cultivation area accounts for nearly 40 percent of China's total, making the grape wine industry one of the six leading specialty industries in Ningxia, Huang added.

He stated that a young woman had devoted herself to the local wine grape industry after graduating from university and planted more than 200 hectares of wine grapes with her fellow villagers.

The initiative has generated over 450,000 yuan ($6,200) per hectare from grape wine production.

Thanks to the booming grape wine industry, almost 130,000 migrants across the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains have managed to get rid of poverty, Huang noted.

Such examples of coordinated development between ecological improvement and industrial development are widespread across the country, he stressed.

By the end of last year, over 3.4 million people were employed in the ecological and environmental protection sector across the country, and the annual revenue generated in the sector exceeded 2 trillion yuan, nearly quadrupling from over 10 years ago.

"As our investment in ecological governance continues to increase, the improvement in the quality of the ecological environment has been remarkably significant. Meanwhile, the ecological protection industry has been thriving and has become an essential part of our current productivity," he said.