General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Xi Jinping, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the site of a section of an ancient road system known as "Shudao" in Guangyuan city, Southwest China's Sichuan province, July 25, 2023. [Photo/CCTV]

With ecological conservation always in mind, Xi has been advocating the building of an ecological civilization while promoting all-around social and economic growth. The first stop on his inspection tour in Sichuan last week was the site of a section of Shudao, an ancient road system in the city of Guangyuan.

The Cuiyunlang section of Shudao, which Xi visited, serves as a fine example of the road's development and evolution. It has around 7,800 ancient cypress trees, which boast an average age of 1,050 years, with the oldest tree dating back approximately 2,300 years. The trees have become the most extensive and populous group of ancient trees lining a man-made pathway, with the longest recorded existence.

Xi stressed the importance of building and implementing institutional frameworks, as well as inspiring the people's initiative and creativity in consolidating and expanding the achievements in ecological conservation.

He also inspected Tianhan Wetland Park in Hanzhong on Saturday, calling it a park of happiness for local people.

The construction of ecological parks should conform with nature, Xi said. He urged efforts to strengthen the overall protection and systematic restoration of wetland ecosystems, promote the mutual integration of ecological protection, economic development and people's lives, and endeavor to build an eco-city there.

China boasts 56.35 million hectares of wetlands, including marshes, beaches and lakes, according to the latest official land resource surveys. The country also has 64 wetlands of international importance and 29 wetlands of national importance, as well as 901 national wetland parks. Since 2003, the central government has spent 19.8 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) on over 4,100 projects to advance wetland protection and restoration across the country.

During his inspection in Sichuan, Xi also urged the province to make more progress in science-technology innovation, as well as in building a modern industrial system, promoting rural vitalization and consolidating ecological shields along the upper reaches of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers.

Opening up new areas of development with sci-tech innovation is an urgent requirement for high-quality development, Xi told officials. He called on Sichuan to give full play to its strengths and make efforts on both sci-tech innovation and the application of scientific and technological achievements.

He urged Sichuan to prioritize rural vitalization and further take on the responsibilities of stabilizing grain production and ensuring the supply of major agricultural products such as grain, pork and oilseed crops.