Leadership Insights | Xi's Stories: Qinghai-New Practices of Local Governments in the New Era

Strengthening eco-environment protection is a primary task for Qinghai

Located on the "roof of the world," Qinghai Province, with an average altitude of 4,058 meters, serves as the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers, hence its nickname "the water tower of China." It is an important shelter for the country's ecological security. Protecting Qinghai's ecological environment is a "major mission of the nation."

In recent years, Qinghai has made concerted efforts to build a highland in ecological progress, fought a tough battle against pollution, and improved the quality of the ecological environment at a high level.

In 2023, the total water resources in the Qinghai Lake basin added up to 3.302 billion cubic meters, 29.3% more than the average of previous years;

The snow area decreased by 27.81% from the previous year, but increased by 22.05% compared with the average of the past decade;

The average grassland coverage rate reached 65.70%.

The population of Przewalski's gazelles, a critically endangered species in the Qinghai Lake basin, had increased from more than 300 at the beginning of conservation to an annual average of 3,488.

The population of waterfowl showed a significant upward trend, and statistics indicated the total number exceeded 606,000 in 2023.

A rare species, naked carp in Qinghai Lake reached about 555 million in total number and 114,100 tons in total weight, 44 times that of 2002.

By the end of December 2023, the total area of ecological protection and restoration in Qinghai had reached 56,500 hectares.

In 2023, the surface water quality across Qinghai was generally excellent, and the quality of centralized drinking water sources and groundwater remained stable.

The proportion of days with good air quality in 2023 was 96.6%. 

According to the monitoring results of 99 national and provincial-level water quality monitoring sections in the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang river basins, as well as the Heihe and Qaidam inland river basins and the Qinghai Lake basin, the water quality in all of the 35 surface water state-controlled monitoring sections met or exceeded Class III. 

(Source: Ecological Environment Status Bulletin of Qinghai Province 2023)

Entering a new stage of development, Qinghai continues to implement the new development concept and build a new development paradigm, with its position in the country’s ecological security, homeland security, and resource and energy security becoming more important. The Qinghai-Xizang Plateau feature a rich but fragile ecosystem. In recent years, Qinghai has constantly carried out comprehensive improvement of the ecological environment to comprehensively promote the construction of a beautiful Qinghai. To promote the protection of the ecological environment in a down-to-earth manner, the Qinghai people are pooling their strength to defend lush mountains and lucid waters.