Two sites in Guangdong rated as China's Natural Oxygen Zone

Jiexi county and Lianshan Zhuang and Yao autonomous county in South China's Guangdong province were rated as a Natural Oxygen Zone of China at a launch event recently held in Beijing.

Organized by the China Meteorological Service Association, the annual evaluation of the Natural Oxygen Zones of China started in 2016.

To be a Natural Oxygen Zone of China, the following requirements should be met: the number of months with a comfortable climate for human settlements is no less than three months; the annual average concentration of negative oxygen ions is no less than 1,000 per cubic centimeter; the rate of good air quality is no less than 70 percent in a year; ecological protection measures are appropriate; tourism facilities are complete; and service management is standardized.

Jiexi county boasts beautiful natural scenery and many places of interest, including 12 underground hot springs and 78 mountains with an altitude of more than 800 meters. Natural ecological tourism is its leading industry.

There are six months that the county enjoys a climate deemed comfortable for human settlements. Its average negative oxygen ion concentration is more than 1,000 per cc, with the maximum concentration reaching over 20,000 per cc.

Lianshan Zhuang and Yao autonomous county is rich in forest resources, with its forest coverage rate as high as 86.2 percent, ranking first in the province.

To date, there have been 115 sites around the country that have received the title of Natural Oxygen Zone of China, five of which are in Guangdong province. The other three are the Luofu Mountain scenic area in Huizhou, Nanling National Forest Park in Shaoguan, and Longmen county.

Nanling National Forest Park topped the ranking of all the Natural Oxygen Zones according to the annual average concentration of negative oxygen ions, the duration of comfortable climate for human settlements, the rate of good air quality in a year, the forest coverage rate, as well as the water quality.