Hangzhou announces beautiful village project

Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province recently launched a plan to promote its beautiful village project, with over 10 villages being the pilots this year, according to a forum held on March 26.

The campaign is part of the city's efforts to improve the rural living environment, implement a rural vitalization strategy and advance the integrated development of urban and rural areas.

The plan includes six areas, including the ecological environment, transportation links, industrial development, people's livelihoods, historic heritage preservation, and social governance.

Though environment renovation in small towns has achieved substantial results, there are still problems in the lack of public infrastructure and services, said an official from the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

"In contrast with the environmental renovation projects taking place in some small towns and villages, the beautiful village project focuses more on the improvement of the soft environment, including the quality of life for citizens and the optimization of industries," said Wu Yuandong, a local official from Yiqiao township in Xiaoshan district, adding that the town intends to advance rural development by combining the cultural and tourism industries.