Shenzhen strives to become National Forest City

The city of Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong province is continuing its efforts to become a National Forest City, with over 40 requirements having been met, according to the city's special office for the National Forest City application.

Application documents will be sent to the State Forestry and Grassland Administration before June, and experts will be dispatched from July to September to come assess the city.

On April 22, the 49th Earth Day, Shenzhen held an event promoting the development of National Forest Cities in Guangdong province, with Chen Junguang, head of Guangdong Forestry Department, and Liu Qingsheng, vice mayor of Shenzhen, both participating.

An environmental protection alliance, consisting of 20 non-profit green organizations, is founded in Shenzhen on April 22. [Photo/sznews.com]

According to Liu, Shenzhen has made steady progress in forest construction, the greening of roads, and flower planting, and the city will continue to launch more environmental projects in a bid to become the best forest city in China and a leader in green development.

A white paper on Shenzhen's land greening efforts from 2016 to 2017 was also unveiled at the event. According to the document, by the end of 2017, the total forest area in Shenzhen reached nearly 80,000 hectares, with a forest coverage rate of 40.04 percent. The city is home to 942 parks and has 2,443 kilometers of green roads.

Honorary certificates were granted to local residents who have made strong contributions to the greening of Shenzhen.

A total of 18 cities in Guangdong province held the promotion event simultaneously on April 22, hitting a record high in both the number of participating cities and event attendees.

Currently, there are seven cities in Guangdong with the title of National Forest City - Guangzhou, Huizhou, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Zhaoqing, Foshan and Jiangmen. Shenzhen and Zhongshan, which are expected to join the group this year, will together form China's first national forest city cluster - the Pearl River Delta National Forest City Cluster.

Citizens who have contributed to Shenzhen's greening projects receive certificates of honor on April 22. [Photo/sznews.com]