Qingyuan county in Lishui, East China's Zhejiang province, has been adhering to the philosophy of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets", and striving to tap a new way to achieve sustainable and high-quality green development.

Abies Beshanzuensis in Baishanzu. [Photo by Xiao Da/chinadaily.com.cn]

Qingyuan has rich tourism resources with beautiful scenery and a pleasant climate. The county's more than 86 percent forest coverage rate has made it the largest natural oxygen bar in East China.

In 2004, Qingyuan ranked first among 2,348 counties (county-level cities and districts) in China in a report released by the China National Environmental Monitoring Center on the basis of biological abundance, vegetation cover, water density, land degradation, and pollution load.

At present, Lishui is planning to establish a national park based on Fengyang Mountain — the Baishanzu nature reserves. Baishanzu, a national 4A-level tourist scenic spot in Qingyuan, is home to many wildlife species, including Abies Beshanzuensis, one of the 12 most endangered plants in the world as listed by the international Species Survival Commission (SSC).

A mushroom market in Qingyuan county. [Photo by Xiao Da/chinadaily.com.cn]

Qingyuan people have long utilized the ecological advantages in the county. About 800 years ago, the artificial cultivation technology of shiitake mushrooms was invented in Qingyuan. Since then, shiitake mushrooms have been closely related to the county's development.

At present, more than 50 percent of the income of farmers in Qingyuan comes from the mushroom industry. And thanks to the development of the internet, the brand value of Qingyuan mushrooms has reached 4.93 billion yuan ($696.34 million) thus far.

The bamboo industry is another pillar in Qingyuan. It is estimated that 380,000 pairs of Qingyuan bamboo chopsticks are sold every 15 minutes. The county has more than 300 bamboo processing enterprises, with more than 20,000 employees.

The Qingyuan-based Suncha Bamboo & Wood Technology Co Ltd has an annual production capacity of nearly 500 million pairs of chopsticks, with an output value reaching one billion yuan. The enterprise is a pioneer in promoting serving chopsticks in China.

Chopsticks produced by Suncha Bamboo & Wood Technology Co Ltd. [Photo by Xiao Da/chinadaily.com.cn]