Ankang Environmental Protection | Shaanxi Ankang: Laying a Solid Foundation for Green Development and Painting a Picture of Green Mountains and Clear Waters - Ankang City Leads in Multiple Ecological and Environmental Indicators Across the Province

"Ankang's urban central area enjoyed 357 days of good air quality, an increase of 18 days year - on - year, exceeding the provincial assessment target by 13 days. The comprehensive air quality index was 2.97, with the number of good - quality air days and the comprehensive index ranking first in the province. Ankang's urban water environment quality index was 2.9445, ranking first in the province for three consecutive years. The safe utilization rate of key construction land in the city was 100%..." These solid data points are a powerful testament to the continuous improvement of Ankang's ecological and environmental quality.

In 2024, the Ankang Municipal Party Committee and the municipal government firmly established the concept that "green mountains and clear waters are as valuable as mountains of gold and silver." They clearly stated that Ankang's ecological and environmental quality should "strive to be first and be a champion" in the province. They launched an upgraded pollution - prevention and - control campaign. The top leaders of the municipal committee regularly made arrangements and deployments. The top leaders of the municipal government adopted a "concentrated scheduling + on - site research" approach to solve problems on the front line and advance work at the grassroots level. They held a total of 46 scheduling meetings and rectified 573 problems, promoting the continuous improvement of the city's ecological and environmental quality.

Committing to Low - carbon Transition and Creating a New Benchmark for Green Development

Ankang has embraced the mindset that "success need not be achieved during my tenure" and the responsibility that "I must contribute to success." It has issued the "Low - carbon Development Plan (2024 - 2030)" and the "Low - carbon and Near - zero Carbon Pilot Construction Plan (2023 - 2025)." The national low - carbon city pilot construction has become the only city in the province to receive an excellent rating in the national low - carbon city pilot construction.

After Shaanxi Province launched the provincial low - carbon and near - zero carbon pilot demonstration construction, Ankang seized this opportunity to create a modern industrial system mainly composed of three trillion - yuan - level industrial clusters: ecological tourism, new materials, and selenium - rich food. It organized three pilot counties (parks) - Ankang High - tech Zone, Shiquan County, and Xunyang High - tech Zone - to closely focus on the creation goals. They planned and reserved 63 major projects for low - carbon and near - zero carbon pilot construction in fields such as mechanism building, energy adjustment, facility improvement, and industrial transition, with a total investment of about 11.857 billion yuan. Currently, the city's cumulative CO₂ emission per unit of GDP has decreased by 25.25%, and all indicators have successfully completed the national low - carbon city pilot construction targets, ranking at the forefront of carbon - emission reduction in the province and even the country.

The pollution - reduction and carbon - reduction efforts have fully launched the "Ecological and Livable, Happy Ankang" ecological tourism brand. The case of "Ecological Empowerment of Rural Revitalization" in Ningqiang County was selected as a typical case of rural revitalization in the province. Langao County, Shiquan County, and Zhenping County were named National Ecological Civilization Construction Demonstration Zones. Pingli County, Zhenping County, Langao County, and Shiquan County were awarded as National "Green Mountains and Clear Waters are as Valuable as Mountains of Gold and Silver" Practice Innovation Bases.

Turning Mines into Oases, in Resonance with the Great Spirit of the Times

In Baihe County, eight sites of pyrite mines have been treated, with 208 mine caves sealed off. The distance of "sulfur water" has been shortened from 56 kilometers to 19 kilometers. In the Haoping River Basin, comprehensive management of eight waste - slag piles with a total volume of 151,000 cubic meters in Yangou River and Chenjiagou has been completed, with 57 mine caves sealed off. Mine management and ecological restoration have built a new development pattern, making green the distinct foundation for Ankang's development.

Strengthening Systematic Governance and Drawing a New Picture of Ecological Ankang

In recent years, Ankang has focused on key areas and critical links of pollution prevention and control. It has insisted on the coordinated promotion of pollution reduction, carbon reduction, greening, and growth to continuously improve the ecological environment quality, making blue skies, green land, clear water, and clean soil the new picture of development.

Significant Achievements in the Blue Sky Protection Campaign

Based on Ankang's meteorological conditions and pollution sources, the Ankang Municipal Party Committee and the municipal government have focused on the following:

- From January to March, the focus is on PM2.5 and PM10 pollution prevention and control.

- From April to September, the emphasis is on the joint management of PM2.5 and ozone.

- From October to December, the focus is on autumn - and - winter air pollution prevention and control.

They have adhered to a closed - loop management of five mechanisms for pollution - prevention and - control: biweekly scheduling, public exposure, accountability, publicity guidance, and supervision for rectification. In 2024, Ankang's urban central area enjoyed 357 days of good air quality, an increase of 18 days year - on - year, exceeding the provincial assessment target by 13 days and surpassing the second - place city by 10 days. The PM10 concentration was 44 micrograms per cubic meter, a year - on - year decrease of 12%. The PM2.5 concentration was 28 micrograms per cubic meter, down by 6.7% year - on - year. The comprehensive air quality index was 2.97, down by 6.6% year - on - year. The number of good - quality air days and the comprehensive index ranked first in the province. The number of good - quality air days and the five parameters (PM10, PM2.5, NO₂, SO₂, CO) were the best since the new air quality standards were issued. The number of good - quality air days and NO₂ were the best in the history of all cities in Shaanxi Province. For five consecutive years, Ankang has entered the list of national air quality - compliant cities.

Continuous Good News from the Clean Water Protection Campaign

Ankang has formulated and issued systematic documents such as the "Key Points of Water Ecological Environment Protection in Key Basins During the 14th Five - Year Plan Period in Ankang" and the "Action Plan for Consolidating and Enhancing Water Ecological Environment Quality in Ankang (2024 - 2025)." These documents have fully implemented the ecological environment protection responsibilities of all levels and parties. At the same time, Ankang has actively connected with the upstream city of Hanzhong and the downstream city of Shiyan. It has signed the "Cross - regional Coordination and Linkage Agreement" and the "Water Quality Mutual Protection and Joint Management Agreement" with them. It has also established cross - regional water environment protection cooperation mechanisms with Wanyuan City, Zhuxi County, Wuxi County, Chengkou County, and Yunxi County. It has reached a cooperation intention with Xi'an City for the joint protection of the "Diverting Hanjiang River to Weihe River" reservoir area. By conducting joint monitoring, information sharing, and joint law enforcement with neighboring cities (counties), it has achieved precise protection and risk prevention across regions and preliminarily built a联动protection mechanism for the upper and lower reaches and both banks of the Hanjiang River. In 2024, Ankang's urban water environment quality index was 2.9445, ranking first in the province. All 42 monitoring sections in the city met Class II or above water quality standards. The water quality compliance rate of 21 county - level and above centralized drinking water sources was 100%, and the excellent rate of surface water remained at 100%.

Abundant Achievements in the Clean Land Protection Campaign

The safe utilization rate of key construction land in the city was 100%. Rural domestic sewage treatment was completed in 182 administrative villages, exceeding the provincial target. Shiquan County was selected as a pilot county for "province - wide promotion" of rural domestic sewage treatment in Shaanxi Province. Ankang's rural domestic sewage treatment work was promoted and publicized throughout the province in the Shaanxi Province's work brief on consolidating and enhancing the effectiveness of rural environmental improvement and the "more beautiful countryside" campaign. The overall soil and groundwater environment quality in the city remained stable, and the rural ecological environment continued to improve.

Solid Steps in Ecological Revitalization

The Jiangnan Reclaimed Water Plant has been honored as one of the top ten environmental protection facilities open to the public in the country. The Qinba Ecological Museum has been selected as an ecological civilization education and practice base in Shaanxi Province. The "Shaanxi Bashan Station (Forest)" has successfully entered the list of the second batch of comprehensive ecological quality monitoring stations in the country... With its excellent natural endowment, Ankang has fully launched a series of ecological brands. Relying on these ecological brands, Ankang has embarked on the road of ecological village revitalization, completing rural domestic sewage treatment in 40 administrative villages and remediation of two rural black - and - odorous water bodies.

Today, blue skies, clear water, and green land have become the "daily standard" for the people of Ankang. Fresh air is the "happiness code" for citizens. Looking to the future, Ankang will surely draw a more poetic and vibrant new picture.