Qingdao in Shandong province [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Qingdao in East China's Shandong province has been making progress in its efforts to become a key ecological city in the nation that adopts a people-centered development ideology to build a modern society where humans and nature coexist harmoniously.

In 2022, Qingdao launched a campaign to construct a "park city" that can meet citizens' diverse needs for leisure, fitness and entertainment.

The city's environment has over the past 50 years also undergone dramatic changes due to its efforts to improve the ecology.

Excellent air quality

Qingdao has in recent years taken a series of measures to enhance its air quality. In 2022, the city's concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide were at their lowest level since the implementation of the Environmental Air Quality Standards in 2013.

In 1998, Qingdao started to promote the use of coals with added sulfur fixative, replace scattered heating with central heating, and relocate high-polluting industrial enterprises. In 2008, it issued 13 relocations plans for enterprises in old urban areas. In 2022, Qingdao launched a three-year campaign to upgrade the city.

Qingdao has through industrial transformation also bolstered China's dual carbon goals and answered the call to reduce pollution and carbon emissions.

Qingdao boasts beautiful scenery at all seasons. [Photo/VCG]

Water ecology

Qingdao has adopted a "dual-track" approach to pollution reduction and ecological protection by preserving its water resources, water environment and water ecology.

The city has intensified river and lake patrol and management, strengthened pollution control for industrial water and enhanced risk prevention to improve the city's water-based ecosystem. In 2022, all 20 national and provincial control sections in Qingdao met the water quality standards while 16 urban centralized drinking water sources also achieved the required standards.

The treatment of the Licun River basin is a shining example of the progress made in improving the city's ecology. Local authorities have upgraded the traditional engineering-based mode of water treatment and developed a replicable treatment model for black and odorous water bodies in northern China. To date, 26.5 kilometers of recycled water replenishment pipelines have been built in the basin.

Authorities have also inspected and rectified 6,161 outfalls into the sea. The proportion of excellent water quality in the near-shore waters currently stands at 99 percent, the highest in the city's history.

Environmental monitoring

Established in 1976, the Qingdao Ecological Environment Monitoring Center monitors 381 parameters and environmental data in 12 categories including wastewater, air, seawater and marine sediment.

The center generates 103 million pieces of data each year from the 141 towns and streets it monitors. Staff members utilize methods such as satellite remote sensing, radar networking, mobile navigation, drone exploration and super monitoring stations to stay abreast of changes in the concentration of major pollutants in the air.