An aerial view of the mountainous area in Lanzhou. [Photo/Gansu Daily]

Lanzhou in Gansu province has made steady progress in improving its urban environment through a series of large-scale environmental projects, creating a greener and more livable city.

The city has planned 14 key projects under the sixth phase of the Three-North Shelterbelt Program covering an area of over 4.76 million mu (about 317,000 hectares). The program is an afforestation initiative launched in 1978 to curb desertification and improve the ecological environment in northern China. Another seven watershed improvement projects covering 2.14 million mu have also entered the national project pipeline. This year, improvement work has been launched across 1.25 million mu.

Lanzhou is also advancing a three-year plan to improve the city's north and south mountains. Since last year, more than 12,600 mu of new forests have been planted, over 16,200 mu of degraded forests improved, and irrigation infrastructure upgraded to improve long-term ecological resilience.

Urban and rural greening efforts continue in parallel. This year, Lanzhou plans to complete 30 urban parks, while expanding green spaces along key districts and the Yellow River waterfront. The city's green coverage rate has reached 41.37 percent, and more than 85 percent of urban residents are within walking distance of a park. In rural areas, nearly 3.88 million trees have been planted since last year under the "Village Tree Planting" campaign.