Gaozhou in Maoming is blanketed with lush greenery. [Photo/Nanfang Plus]

Gaozhou in Maoming stood out from 1,821 counties countrywide and ranked 20th for its achievements in implementing the developmental concept of "Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets."

Gaozhou has integrated environmental protection work indicators into the scope of its annual local assessment, and has carried out strict supervision at key worksites such as pollution prevention and control projects.

It has released a series of working plans in areas such as water quality improvement and soil pollution prevention and control. In 2020, Gaozhou's water environment quality ranked first in Maoming, and its compliance rate was 99.5 percent.

Gaozhou boasts blue skies, clear water and pure land, which are three goals the city has achieved by carrying out precise pollution control, scientific pollution control, and pollution control according to law.

Since 2018, Gaozhou has invested a total of 680 million yuan ($106 million) to promote the construction of water purification facilities in 2,556 villages. From January to August this year, the high-quality air rate in Gaozhou was 98.5 percent, and the annual average concentration of fine particles was 24mg/m³. Gaozhou's air quality was stable and has met the required standards.

It has completed its investigation into the soil pollution status of the land used in key industrial parks, and established and updated the list of suspected contaminated land. The safe utilization rate of contaminated farmland has reached 100 percent.

Gaozhou has stepped up its efforts in environmental law enforcement and supervision, and cracked down on environmental violations. The city has dealt with environmental violations through various laws and regulations, and has assisted and guided enterprises to solve problems 114 times.