Blue sky brightens Wuxi

Wuxi now enjoys clear air on two out of three days each year. [Photo/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The bright blue sky in Wuxi. [Photo/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Bright blue skies have become an increasingly common sight in Wuxi, Jiangsu province in recent years, and now local residents have even invented a hashtag to celebrate the city's clear air.

Photos of brilliant azure views tagged with the Chinese characters for "Wuxi Blue" have been popping up all over the Chinese social media sites WeChat and Weibo this summer.

"I’m so glad that the PM2.5 density in Wuxi is decreasing every year to allow us to see the bright blue sky," said Wu Xin, a commuter in Wuxi city center.

The statistics support her comment. As of Aug 31, the average density of PM2.5 particulates in the air in Wuxi has been 43.8 micrograms per cubic meter in 2017, down 19 percent on the same period last year, according to government data.

The percentage of "good air quality days" in Wuxi has also risen from 57.7 percent in 2016 to 66 percent so far this year.

Wuxi's air is improving much faster than in other cities in the region. Overall, the average PM2.5 density in Jiangsu province has lowered 5.8 percent year-on-year.

The city's success in cleaning up the air has also won it recognition from China's central government, which named Wuxi the "2016 Good Air Pollution Control City".

Key to Wuxi's achievements has been the "Blue Sky Project", which it launched in 2010. The local government has completed more than 2,000 pollution control projects since 2013.