Zhejiang province announced a "Big Garden" construction project and designated a total of 20 model counties, county-level cities, and districts across the province to pilot the project in 2019. The pilot areas have made significant headway over the past year.

Inspired by the "Two Mountains" Theory, which states that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets", the Zhejiang Provincial Development and Reform Commission initiated the "Big Garden" project, aiming to transform the province into a "Big Garden" promoting green development in the country.

The project focuses on five areas: environmental protection, all-for-one tourism, environmentally-friendly industries, infrastructure, and devising an ideal green development model.

Eight of the 20 model counties and districts are administered by the cities of Quzhou and Lishui.

Quzhou has made steady progress in the construction of a "Virtuous Quzhou" picturesque landscape belt, which passes through all of the city's four "Big Garden" model regions, namely Kaihua county, Kecheng district, Qujiang district, and Jiangshan city.

Lishui is working on a new national-level forest park, a 2,617-kilometer greenway, a number of 5A level scenic areas, holiday resorts, five-star hotels, and its first-ever civil airport.

Pilot areas across Zhejiang province are instilling local characteristics into their "Big Garden" construction. For example, Chun'an county is focusing on the protection of Thousand-island Lake; Tiantai county is focusing on the abundance of well-known ancient poems praising its tourism attractions; while Longquan city is focusing on the preservation and commercialization of its ancient sword and celadon ware craftsmanship.

According to the Zhejiang Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Zhejiang will add another 10 "Big Garden" model counties by the end of 2020.

The picturesque landscape belt in Quzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo by Xu Jun for chinadaily.com.cn]