The Zhoushan-Daishan Bridge. [Photo/zhoushan.cn]

The natural environment, wellbeing of the people, and comprehensive strength of Daishan, a county in Zhoushan, Zhejiang, have greatly improved over the past five years, local media reported on Feb 10.

Last year, Daishan was recognized as a national demonstration in ecological development. The county currently has 4,500 mu (300 hectares) of newly afforested areas and six provincial forest towns.

From 2017 to 2021, Daishan set aside 20 billion yuan ($3.16 billion) to improve the wellbeing of local residents and raised the subsidies to households receiving minimum living guarantee to 10,920 yuan per year.

In 2021, the per capital disposal income of urban and rural residents reached 61,759 yuan and 43,048 yuan respectively, year-on-year increases of 7.5 percent and 8.7 percent.

The GDP of Daishan totaled 53.08 billion yuan, an average annual increase of 21.6 percent over the past five years, while the added value of its industries above designated size exceeded 30 billion yuan in 2021.

The cargo throughput of Daishan amounted to 200 million metric tons in the same year with an average annual increase of 21.1 percent over the past five years.

By 2026, the GDP of Daishan is expected to reach 100 billion yuan while the county's research and development expenditure should account for 3 percent of its GDP. The county's cargo throughput is also expected to exceed 250 million tons by that year.

In addition, more than 48 percent of the county will be covered in vegetation and the annual per capita disposable income increase rates of urban and rural residents should hit 7.3 percent and 7.5 percent respectively by 2026.