Shandong has been ramping up efforts to build itself into a great modern socialist province in all respects and to contribute to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization, said local authorities.

The province is striving to boost ecological conservation and high-quality development in the Yellow River basin, replacing old growth drivers with new ones and promoting green, low-carbon and high-quality development, as well as other national strategies.

Migratory birds in the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve in Dongying, Shandong province, in November. ZHOU GUANGXUE/FOR CHINA DAILY

Dongying city in Shandong sits where the Yellow River flows into the Bohai Sea. It has focused on preserving wetlands and biodiversity in the Yellow River Delta region.

"Birds know best when the ecology is good," said Zhao Yajie, a senior engineer at the Dongying Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve, adding that the number of bird species in the Yellow River Delta has increased from 187 in 1992 to 372.

Shandong has launched a slew of measures to advance the conservation of the Yellow River. This year, it will continue to promote Yellow River Delta wetland restoration, ecological water replenishment and biodiversity protection, and strive for the approval of the construction of the Yellow River Estuary National Park.

Containers at a port in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, on Jan 22, 2023. [Photo/VCG]

In early 2018, the construction of Shandong's comprehensive pilot zone for replacing old growth drivers with new ones was approved by the State Council. Over the past five years, Shandong's "top 10" industries, such as new-generation information technology and high-end equipment, have grown steadily.

According to the provincial government work report, in recent years the share of added value of the four new economies increased by more than 10 percentage points, and the scale of the digital economy grew by more than 40 percent.