The city became greener in 2016, as its parks and gardens increased by 3.5 million square meters. In addition, 30 kilometers of tree-shaded avenues and streets were added.

Lin Cheng, chief engineer of the gardening bureau, said the city now mainly plants local trees, grasses and flowers to increase Fuzhou's green areas.

He said a number of parks featuring banyan trees are planned or under construction in areas near Liuhua Brook, Jin'an Lake and the Douding Reservoir.

"Our target is for people to have trees within their sight from anywhere in the city," said Lin.

He said another species in the planting plan is jasmine, with a total of 500,000 jasmine trees to be planted all over the city over the next two years, especially in parks, residential communities and riverbanks. He added that there will be a number of jasmine-themed parks to be built in the city.

And Lin said the greening and planting program is not only a government initiative; it also demands the involvement of the public.

The Fuzhou city government issued a document in November announcing that the city will vote for and reward "garden-like organizations", "garden-like communities" and the "most beautiful balconies" in the city.

The public and organizations are encouraged to adopt trees in the city.

The city is building or upgrading a number of parks and public green spaces, striving to realize the goal of a greenbelt every 300 meters and a park every 500 m.

In urban areas, there should be at least one greenbelt for every 2,000 sq m, every township should have at least one park and each village should have at least one leisure area, according to the city's plan.

Along with the wetland's protection and the planting program, water quality is also high on Fuzhou's agenda for ecological improvement.

According to statistics released by the Fuzhou environmental protection bureau, the city's 20 key water courses being monitored all met national standards for water quality in the first 11 months of 2016.

Of the city's 20 key water ways, 90 percent can now be used for indusrial purposes and 60 percent can be used for drinking after treatment.

As livestock waste had become one of the water's major pollution sources, the city shut down 1,365 pig farms by compensating farmers some 202 million yuan ($29 million).

In the process of dealing with industrial sewage, it closed 58 small and mediumsized production facilities with low efficiency and a negative environmental impact.

humeidong@chinadaily.com.cn