People ride bikes in the bicycle lane on a road in Binjiang district, Hangzhou city, East China's Zhejiang province, on March 31, 2017. According to the UN, over the past decade, Hangzhou government has been improving bike-friendly infrastructure, such as lanes and traffic signals created solely for cyclists, and has provided almost 86,000 public bicycles. [Photo/IC]

Country praised for 'significant strides' it has made in addressing environmental problems

World Environment Day, celebrated in more than 100 countries, is the United Nations' day for encouraging international awareness and action to protect the environment.

Every World Environment Day has a different host country, and this year's host is China, with the official celebration taking place in the eastern city of Hangzhou on Wednesday, in the presence of senior Chinese government officials and Joyce Msuya, acting executive director of the UN Environment Programme.

This year's theme is air pollution, and the UN is calling on governments, industry, communities and individuals to act to explore renewable energy and green technologies and improve the air quality in cities and regions across the world.

In a preannouncement story on the UN News website, China was praised by the organization for the "significant strides" it has made to address poor air quality.

"Although the rapid development of many Chinese cities has led to poor air quality, and associated health problems for many citizens, the country has made significant strides in addressing the problem in recent years," the story said.

China was once considered the "Kingdom of the Bicycle," with bikes dominating city streets across the country, but over the past four decades, China's dramatic increase in economic prosperity and urbanization has seen many people move to motor vehicles as their primary means of transportation, contributing to a marked deterioration in air quality.

In Hangzhou, once described by the Italian explorer Marco Polo as "the finest and most splendid city in the world", air pollution was well over the World Health Organization's safe level.

However, in a bid to improve public health and the environment, the Hangzhou authorities have put a renewed emphasis on cycling, which, allied with digital technology, is helping to cut pollution.