A view of Anji county, Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province [Photo/WeChat account: huzhoufabu]

Huzhou' s Anji county is leading Zhejiang in green development, adhering to the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets".

The concept was first proposed in Yucun village, Anji county in 2005 and has since proved to be an important guiding force for both rural and urban areas in China.

Anji is a national manufacturing hub for chairs. However, the air pollution caused by the sector has long been a problem for the county.

In recent years, the local authorities launched a campaign forcing more than 500 enterprises in the sector to reduce waste gas emissions through technical upgrading.

According to Liu Jian, deputy head of the Huzhou municipal bureau of ecology and environment, local enterprises are being assisted in replacing oily paint with water paint.

An activated carbon desorption center has also been built in the county, which is expected to save individual companies at least 100,000 yuan ($14,492.75) per year.

Official data show that from January to August, Anji's air quality met national standards on 97.5 percent of days over the past 10 months.

Meanwhile, the county also plans to invest more than 3 billion yuan to treat sewage in its urban areas.

Thanks to its improved ecology, a number of tourism sites have sprung up, generating handsome incomes for local residents.

For example, a water park was put into operation in Zhukouxi village in Anji's Xiaofeng town this summer.

The park now welcomes over 2,000 tourists per day during peak periods such as weekends, and brings in estimated annual revenue of 20 million yuan. From the park, the village could earn at least 400,000 yuan by the end of this year. 

In addition, the county has explored several institutional innovations, including facilitating the transfer of farmlands by streamlining related administrative procedures.