Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, is recognized as a "national ecological garden city" by the he Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. [Photo/VCG] 

The coastal city of Xiamen in East China's Fujian province was the only city in the province to be awarded the title of National Ecological Garden City, according to a news conference held on April 22. 

The National Ecological Garden City title is the highest honor in China given to cities who show excellence in ecofriendly development. It takes into account things such as comprehensive urban management, public service facilities, green spaces, natural environment, energy conservation, and emissions reduction. 

Since 2013, Xiamen has being issuing guidelines on becoming a national ecological garden city, and has carried out three major projects, including establishing an ecological pattern focusing on the coastal city’s development and promoting large-scale afforestation to create a greener city, according to an official from the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Landscapes and Forestry. 

Over the past few years, Xiamen has designated 981 square kilometers as “ecological control area”, accounting for 57.7 percent of Xiamen’s total land area. A total of 10 ecological corridors have been built, and more than 10 ecological restoration projects were completed on various mountains in and around the city. A total of 453.49 hectares of nature were restored through the projects. 

Green space in Xiamen's urban built-up areas has increased from 41.15 percent to 45.13 percent of the total land area, and the per capita park green land area increased from 12.42 to 15.6 square meters. More recreational parks have also been built in order to meet increasing demand from local residents for green space. 

The Xiamen government has also implemented garbage sorting regulations throughout the entire city. In quarterly rankings released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Xiamen ranked first place among 46 cities in China for the past six quarters.