On the afternoon of April 23, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over a symposium on promoting the development of the western region in the new era in Chongqing and delivered an important speech. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has visited the western region many times for investigation and research, gone deep into the grassroots frontier line, and delivered a series of important speeches, pointing out the direction and providing fundamental guidance for the development of the western region in the new era.
The western region of China, with six provinces, five districts and one city, has a vast territory, abundant products, diverse ecosystem types, and huge development potential. Over the past five years, the CPC Central Committee has made arrangements for promoting the large-scale development of the western region in the new era and forming a new pattern, and major results have been achieved in the protection and restoration of the ecological environment in the western region.
Build a solid national ecological security barrier
Every rape season, some citizens meet to go to Guangyang Island in Chongqing to enjoy the flowers. Photo by Zou Le
Guangyang Island in Chongqing, the largest Jiangxin Island in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, has a forest coverage rate of more than 90%. Every spring, Gwangyang Island is a good place for citizens and tourists to go out and enjoy the scenery. More than 10 years ago, Guangyang Island suffered serious damage to the ecological environment due to the planning and development of more than 3 million square meters of real estate. In August 2017, Chongqing stepped on the "emergency brake" on the development of Guangyang Island, put ecological restoration in an overwhelming position, and built "the Yangtze River Scenic Eye, Chongqing Ecological Island". Unremitting efforts have yielded fruitful results. Recently, the Chongqing Guangyang Island Ecological Restoration Project was successfully selected as an excellent case of the United Nations "Decade of Ecological Restoration".
Both Sichuan and Chongqing are located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, with mountains and rivers, water veins and ecosystems. The Yellow River, which flows through Sichuan, flows into and out of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, accounting for 90.9% of the total basin area of the Yellow River in Sichuan. Ruoergai County, which belongs to Aba, has always been known as a "treasure house of precious biological genes". Since the establishment of the Zoige National Park, the local government has vigorously promoted the "Zoige Landscape Project", implemented the "Seven Protection" actions and the "Seven Governance" projects, and it is estimated that the water level of the Huahu Wetland within the park has risen by 52 centimeters, and the lake area has expanded by 435 hectares. This year, Sichuan will continue to strengthen ecological protection and restoration, and complete the "Shanshui Project" of Ruoergai with high quality.
Turning his attention to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, located on the northwestern border of the mainland. In 2003, Wang Sanmei came from Sichuan to Hongqipo in Aksu, Xinjiang, and at that time, the Gobi Desert was in sight; more than 20 years later, under the impetus of the Kekeya Desert Greening Project, the once "full of yellow" has become "10,000 acres of green". This is a manifestation of Xinjiang's achievements in desertification control.
Over the past 40 years, relying on the national "Three Norths" project, Xinjiang has formed a 2,761-kilometer green sand barrier belt around the Taklamakan Desert. As long as the last 285 kilometers are completed, the entire sand barrier around the Taklamakan Desert can be closed, and the Taklamakan Desert will be firmly locked.
Inner Mongolia, which is also part of the "Three Norths" shelterbelt system, has also benefited greatly.
The Kangyur Sandy Land is located at the source of the central sandy belt of the Hulunbuir Sandy Land in Inner Mongolia. Batu Surong, a local herdsman, shook his head when he recalled the situation: "My pasture was on the east side of the sand belt, and the mouths and eye sockets of the cattle and sheep were full of sand at that time. "Nowadays, the green is retreating from the sand, and the Hulunbuir sand is changing. In 2023, focusing on four important ecosystems such as the Hulunbuir grassland sandy land, Hulunbuir City will plan and compile 7 city-level sub-projects of the "Three Norths" Project. At present, Hulunbuir City has reported to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration for approval of 4 sub-projects of the "Three Norths" project, with a proposed construction task of 8.6 million mu, including about 1 million mu of desertified land treatment.
Helan Mountain, also located in the northwest, guards the ecological security of the northwest and north China. Due to the abundance of mineral resources, it has suffered great damage to the natural ecosystem due to disorderly development, which has led to dust and sewage overflow. In 2017, Ningxia began to vigorously improve the ecological environment of Helan Mountain: all 83 mining rights were withdrawn, and 561 "scattered and polluted" enterprises in the coal processing zone at the foot of the mountain were shut down. Today, what was once a sand and gravel mining subsidence area has been transformed into a free theme park for eco-tourism, sports and leisure, and wine culture experiences.
"People do not live up to the green mountains, and the green mountains will not live up to the people. ”
There are green mountains, and there are also green waters.
On January 25 this year, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced the water environmental quality ranking of national surface water assessment sections of cities at and above the prefecture level from January to December 2023, and Liuzhou City, Guangxi Province once again ranked first in the country. This is the fourth consecutive year since 2020 that Liuzhou has topped the list, achieving the "fourth consecutive crown" in water quality. "Over the years, the water quality of the Liujiang River has become better and better, and sometimes you can even see the peach blossom jellyfish, which is known as the 'giant panda in the water'. Cheng Yong, a citizen of Liuzhou, said that the river water is getting clearer and clearer, and more and more people come to swim.
The green and low-carbon transformation of the industry is accelerating
Persisting in protecting and developing in the course of development is the proper meaning of achieving high-quality development in the western region.
Starting from the Liuzhi Special Economic Zone High-speed Railway Station to the southeast, it takes less than 10 minutes to drive, and you can see the Guizhou Meijin Liuzhi "Coal-Coke-Hydrogen" Comprehensive Utilization Demonstration Base. Here, pieces of coal are "eaten and squeezed out", "black" into and "green" out, realizing an intelligent and low-carbon production process, generating 440 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually, providing liquefied natural gas and producing high-purity hydrogen...... In the process of coal coking, more than 20 kinds of additional products have been gradually implemented, forming an industrial chain of "coal-coke-gas-chemical-electricity-material-hydrogen energy". Coal is used, but coal is not seen, and the green and low-carbon story is being written in Guizhou.
On the hillside of Luowen Village, Nanhua County, Chuxiong, Yunnan Province, photovoltaic panels are connected into pieces. Photo by People's Daily reporter Cheng Hao
Hidden in the rolling mountains, Luowen Village, Nanhua County, Chuxiong, Yunnan Province, has limited land, and the contiguous hillside land cannot be planted.
In 2021, the village transferred more than 1,400 acres of hillside land to Huaneng New Energy Co., Ltd. Yunnan Branch, which will build Rowan photovoltaic power station. By the end of 2023, the power station will be connected to the grid for power generation, and it is expected that the annual on-grid power generation capacity will reach 98.944 million kWh, which can save 27,700 tons of standard coal consumption every year. "Photovoltaic panels are used to generate electricity, and planting giant Juncao under the photovoltaic panels can not only prevent soil erosion, but also meet the needs of aquaculture, and increase the income of farmers. Li Fusheng, secretary of the general party branch and director of the village committee of Rowan Village, said. And this is just a microcosm of Yunnan's comprehensive acceleration of new energy development and construction.
Since 2023, Yunnan has put into operation 20.86 million kilowatts of new energy capacity. "In the first quarter of this year, the proportion of new energy power generation reached a new high, reaching 24.2%. Li Qin, chief engineer of the Provincial Energy Bureau, said.
Qinghai Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Big Data Industrial Park. Photo by People's Daily reporter Gan Haiqiong
Qinghai, located in the northeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, has a unique natural endowment for the development of green computing industry. The average annual temperature here is about 3.4 degrees Celsius, the data center can achieve natural cooling for 314 days a year, and the cooling electricity consumption is about 40% lower than the national average. By the end of 2023, Qinghai Province had built 43,000 standard racks of data centers under construction, an increase of 34.4% over the same period in 2022.
A good ecology improves people's livelihood and well-being
Spring arrives in the Qinling Mountains, and the scenery is pleasant. Zhujiawan Village, Yingpan Town, Zhashui County, Shangluo City, Shaanxi Province ushered in one tourist bus after another.
B&B group in Manchuanguan Town, Shanyang County, Shangluo City, Shaanxi. Photo by People's Daily Online Wang Li
"The rooms for May Day have long been booked, and this year, the income of the homestay cluster in Zhujiawan alone is expected to reach about 1 million. Wang Xilin, deputy secretary of the Party Committee of Yingpan Town, said with a smile, "Relying on Niubeiliang National Forest Park and Zhongnan Cottage Scenic Area, the town can have a very beautiful income during a small long holiday." In the past, there used to be a queue of singles in the village, but now all the girls are married. ”
At present, it is very common for villagers to eat "tourist meals" at the "doorstep". Driven by the "leading geese", it took only three years for Ziyuan Village, Hongde Town, Huanxian County, Qingyang City, Gansu Province to become a "rural tourism check-in place" integrating eco-tourism, green picking, characteristic industries, and leisure and health care.
Today's Zhuangzi people are unhurried, talking and laughing and moving forward. In 2023, more than 50,000 tourists will visit Zhuangziyuan, and half of the rural households will have a household income of more than 100,000 yuan.
In addition to "tourist rice", there is also "special industry rice". Plateau yak, snowy barley, Linzhi matsutake mushroom...... Tibet has done a good job in industrial development and effectively transformed its resource advantages into economic and development advantages. From 2012 to 2023, Tibet's GDP crossed the 100 billion yuan and 200 billion yuan mark, and the per capita disposable income of all residents grew at an average annual rate of 11.7 percent, 3 percentage points faster than the economic growth rate in the same period.
Supporting high-quality development with high-level protection. Today, the people's living standards in the western region have steadily improved. The per capita disposable income of residents will increase from 24,000 yuan in 2019 to 31,000 yuan in 2023.
The vast west has a lot to offer. Standing at a new starting point, the 12 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in the western region will bear in mind their earnest entrustment, live up to their earnest expectations, march forward with courage and perseverance, and strive to write a new chapter in the large-scale development of the western region.
(Liu Zhengning, Wang Bo, Tolerance, Li Liping, Zhang Liping, Li Faxing, Cheng Hao, Yang Rui, Li Xinyang, Fu Huazhou, Gao Xiang, Liu Yilin, Wang Li, Li Haixia)
Editor: Wu Jiahong
Source: People's Daily Online