Shaanxi to step up protection of Qinling Mountains

Shaanxi will strengthen enforcement of regulations protecting the ecological environment of the Qinling Mountains to better ensure the regional ecology, according to the government report delivered by Governor Zhao Yide at the opening session of the annual Shaanxi Provincial People's Congress on Tuesday.

Zhao said the province will further implement its overall plan for the mountains and speed up construction of an intelligent, grid-based surveillance system to establish an integrated regulatory system for the mountains.

The construction of the Giant Panda National Park and Qinling National Park will accelerate ecological protection in a concentrated effort directed at preserving the major landmark mountain range dividing the northern and southern regions of the country, he said.

Ecological protection of the Yellow River Basin will also be reinforced, accompanied by new policies and the building of sediment storage dams, Zhao said. He said the province improved the erosion situation of 2,600 square kilometers of land last year.

The draft of Shaanxi's 14th-Five-Year Plan and development vision for 2035 said the province will carry out protection of the Qinling Mountains in all respects to ensure that regional forest coverage reaches more than 70 percent before 2025.