The Department of Ecology and Environment of Jiangsu Province recently announced the air quality rankings of 54 counties, districts and county-level cities in East China's Jiangsu province for the first half of the year.

Ranking first was Qidong – a county-level city administered by Nantong in Jiangsu – with an average PM2.5 concentration of 26 micrograms per cubic meter. What's more, the proportion of days with good air quality during that period reached 85.1 percent.

Thanks to the great weather and excellent air quality, a photography enthusiast in Qidong captures the three landmark buildings in Lujiazui – Shanghai's glitzy financial district – from afar on July 29, using his unmanned aerial drone. It's about 70 kilometers away, as the crow flies. [Photo/WeChat account: qdrmt0513]

In recent years, Qidong has been focusing on its environmental protection. In 2021, it set up 15 automatic atmospheric environment monitoring stations in its sub-districts and towns, with the monitoring covering the entire city.

Furthermore, in the rural areas it administers, the city also prohibited the burning and discarding of straw. As a result, during the summer harvest season this year, the utilization rate of straw in Qidong reached 95 percent.

Starting in 2019, it has ranked number one in Jiangsu for air quality for three consecutive years.