“Where the gorges end and the sky broadens shines the rising sun, Among flat mountains, a great city floats by the widening river.” This is what Mr Guo Moruo described in a poem about the City of Yichang in Hubei Province. Yichang has been embarking on a road of civilized development with developed production, affluent life and a sound ecological environment, advancing science, innovation, transformation and harmonious development. Yichang has found a “green road” characterized by the harmonious coexistence of man and nature, and the all-round consideration of economy and environment. With bluer sky, greener mountains and cleaner water, a modernized "green city" suitable for living, travelling and investment emerges rapidly in the magnificent Three Gorges.
Building a “Green” and Livable Yichang
Yichang City vigorously carries out energy conservation and emission reduction, eliminates backward production capacity, promotes energy-saving building materials, and fulfills the replacement of gasoline by natural gas in buses and taxies. By now, Yichang City has accomplished in advance the emission reduction task in the period of "Eleventh Five-Year Plan", and has completed the state issued task of the prevention and control of water pollution projects in 47 Three Gorges Reservoir Areas and upstream area. The quality compliance rate of the citywide drinking water sources has reached 100%; the forest coverage rate, 58%; urban centralized sewage treatment rate, 89.25%; days with excellent air quality, 350; and the per capita public green land area, 10.84 square meters; resident satisfaction rate to environment, above 85%. According to the findings of Hubei Survey Organization of The National Bureau of Statistics in recent 3 years, Yichang citizens’ satisfaction rate to environmental protection has been in the front rank in Hubei Province.
Green mountains and water surround and embrace each other. The city and the dam stand shoulder to shoulder. Yichang City has kept the promise of "Build A Green Yichang and Protect the Ecosystem of the Three Gorges" with solid actions, and has successfully entered the ranks of National Model Cities for Environmental Protection, National Sanitation Cities, National Garden Cities, China Excellent Tourism Cities, National Top Ten Livable Cities, and National Civilized Cities.
Construction of a “Green” Industrial Pattern
Protecting mountains and water does not hinder Yichang\'s pace of rapid economical development. Instead, it has provided driving force for Yichang City to develop new and high-end industries, facilitated the optimization of industrial structure and the improvement of economic quality, and gathered more and more momentum for development.
There is no absolute waste in the world but resources put in wrong places. In order to protect the environment, Yichang implements the policy of investment attraction and selection, instead of investment attraction alone, taking environmental protection, resources conservation and circular development as principal prerequisites for investment selection, and rigidly “shutting her door” to all high-consumption and high-pollution projects.
While preventing and controlling pollution with an iron hand, Yichang is striving to develops circular economy, turning the waste into resources. Yichang explores actively the circular economy development. At present it has set up the development mode with “internal circulation” in enterprises, "medium circulation" between enterprises and between industrial parks, and "big circulation " between regions.
Through “internal circulation”, the by-products of each product become the raw materials of the next product till finally the by-products of the end-product become the raw materials of the upstream product, and all raw materials are connected end to end and recycled in the process of closed-loop production. Through the "medium circulation", a chain of circular economy is available to across enterprises and industrial parks. Through the "big circulation", which breaks the administrative division limit, urban sludge treatment, a worldwide problem, has been solved successfully.
At present, 10 enterprises and 13 units in Yichang has become provincial pilot enterprises for circular economy. Yichang Development Zone has become the national pilot zone for circular economy, and two enterprises are rated as the national advanced enterprise for circular economy.
During the period of "the Eleventh Five-Year Plan", the economy grows rapidly. Meanwhile, the Ten Thousand Yuan GDP Comprehensive Energy Consumption has dropped 20.8% compared to that at the end of the period of “the Tenth Five-Year Plan”, SO2 and COD emissions have dropped 10.3% and 16.2% respectively. Consequently, Yichang has successfully realized the goals set by the provincial government. The growth and the reduction highlight the unique charm of Yichang as "a pleasant city, a prosperous land".
An Ecological Yichang Depicted by a Low-carbon Lifestyle
The night scene belt, stretching for several kilometers along the Yangtze River, and illuminated by tens of thousands of energy conservation and environmental protection lamps, is an attraction of the beautiful Yichang. It is a thorough low-carbon project.
Aiming at energy conservation and emission reduction, Yichang Municipal Party Committee and the Government set about the fields closely linked to the everyday life of common people, and takes a series of environmental protection measures with significant effects. The construction of urban sewage and garbage treatment facilities is enhanced. Feed replacement is carried out on buses and taxies to replace gasoline with compressed natural gas, and the modification of more than 500 buses and 1300 taxies has been realized. A battery recycling and treatment project is implemented. Energy saving construction materials are disseminated and applied.
Recent years, Yichang has put more than 2 billion RMB into environmental protection facilities construction. With 5 urban sewage treatment plants and 2 landfills, centralized sewage treatment rate has reached 89.25%, and the harmless domestic garbage treatment rate, 89.74%. Every day, more than 270,000 tons of production and domestic sewage is effectively purified in sewage treatment plants, and more than 700 tons of domestic garbage is treated harmlessly in landfills.
Yichang insists on carrying out the activities of "green institutions", "green communities", "green schools" and "green home", and the awareness of environmental protection has rooted deeply in people\'s mind. At the same time, Yichang City attaches great importance to coordinating urban and rural harmonious development, and emphasizes rural pollution treatment, ecological restoration and ecological environment protection. Yidou, a county-level city, and Yuan’an County has become the "Rural Environmental Protection and Well-off Action Pilot Area", Mingfeng township in Yuan’an, Niejiahe Township and Yuanjiabang Village in Yidu are granted titles of “the National Township with Beautiful Environment” and “the National Ecovillage” respectively. Dangyang City and Yuan’an County are both identified as "the National Ecological Demonstration Area".
Yichang City, with its favorable development environment and strong development momentum, attracts the world\'s attention, gathers energy to forge ahead，and strive for a more brilliant future.