The award ceremony for the “National Ecological Civilization Construction Demonstration League” is held in Beijing on Nov 30. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Hinggan League in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region was granted the honorable title of “National Ecological Civilization Construction Demonstration League,” the first league in Inner Mongolia to obtain such an award.

The honor was announced at an award ceremony held in Beijing on Nov 30.

Hinggan League has prioritized the environment and accelerated its moves towards high-quality green development, operating under the philosophy that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.”

In recent years, a series of efforts have significantly improved the ecological conditions of the league.

In 2019, the proportion of days rated “good” or “excellent” air quality in the key urban areas of Hinggan League reached 97.8 percent, and the urban sewage treatment rate reached 97 percent. 

The average water quality of the seven surface water monitoring sections included in the national and autonomous region assessments all reached the Class III standard or higher. Also, the quality of centralized drinking water sources is 100 percent up to standard.

Meanwhile, the forest coverage rate, the green rate of critical urban areas and natural grassland vegetation coverage reach 33 percent, 42 percent and 68 percent, respectively.

Relying on its excellent environment, Hinggan League has gradually established a modern green industry system supported by 10 vital industrial chains, including organic agriculture and livestock product processing, clean energy and traditional Mongolian medicine. 

The brand value of "Hinggan League Rice" has reached 18 billion yuan, ranking third among national food product brands. The number of tourists and income generated by tourism has maintained a rapid growth of more than 20 percent for five consecutive years.

The people have genuinely enjoyed the fruits of green development: The per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents in the league has increased from 24,279 yuan and 8,533 yuan in 2016 to 30,408 yuan and 11,630 yuan in 2019, an average annual growth rate of 8.4 percent and 12.1 percent, respectively.