The improvement in air quality is just a microcosm of the sweeping environmental changes that have happened across the country as the central authorities make unprecedented efforts to promote the "ecological civilization"－a concept whose core principle is the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature.

Last month, 339 cities at prefecture level and above reported that the proportion of days with excellent air quality was 91 percent, up 4.5 percentage points year-on-year. Meanwhile, the figure was 100 percent in Beijing.

Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, "the country's environmental protection endeavors have seen sweeping, historic and transformative changes", wrote Sun Jinlong, Party chief at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, in an article recently published in Qiushi Journal.

For example, in 2020, the proportion of the country's surface water that was suitable for drinking was 83.4 percent, a rise of 17.4 percentage points from 2015, Sun wrote.

Moreover, by the same year, carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP had fallen by 48.4 percent from the 2005 level, beating the target of 40 to 45 percent, he added.

The country's forested areas and the volume of forest stock have expanded for 30 straight years, while roughly 25 percent of the land has been encircled by red lines for ecosystem conservation, the ministry said.

"No matter where General Secretary Xi Jinping goes, he is always concerned about, and repeatedly stresses, the advancement of the ecological civilization and environmental protection," Sun wrote.

Xi has visited many areas in the basins of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers and delivered a series of instructions regarding conservation and governance of the country's two longest waterways. Addressing a symposium in Jinan, capital of Shandong province, in October, the president said regions along the Yellow River should adhere to putting the environment first and being committed to green development.

It was the second symposium Xi had chaired on ecosystem protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin. He has also convened three symposiums on improving the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.