Shanghai set to become even greener this year

Shanghai's forest coverage will reach over 18 percent by the end of this year, compared with 17.56 percent last year, with another 1,200 hectares of green spaces and 200 kilometers of green ways on this year's agenda, the city's greenery authorities announced on Wednesday.

Another 70,000 mu (4,667 hectares) of forest will be added in the city this year, together with 400,000 square meters of vertical greenery, according to the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau.

District-level greenery coverage will hit 40 percent, compared with 39.6 percent last year, and the per capita park and greenery land space of city residents will reach 8.5 square meters compared with 8.3 last year, according to the bureau.

Thirty pocket parks are also on the agenda, and the number of city parks will hit 400 by the end of 2020, from 352 last year, according to the bureau.

Construction of a number of key greenery projects such as the Expo Culture Park, the north expansion of the Shanghai Botanical Garden, Zhangjiabang green land, Taopu central green land and Sanlin green land will be accelerated this year, the bureau said.

Shanghai's forest coverage reached 17.56 percent last year, compared with 16.8 percent from the year earlier, and the city has added another 1,321 hectares of green spaces, according to the bureau.

A total of 113,000 mu of forests were added in the city last year, bringing the total to 1.67 million mu. The city had 210 kilometers of new green ways, 406,000 square meters of new vertical greenery, and 60 new pocket parks last year, according to the bureau.

Parks across the city received 240 million visits throughout last year, according to the bureau.