Regulation offers new future for elite ecology zone
The first law to protect an ecological special zone in China was promulgated on July 30 when Zhejiang Province announced its Regulation for Chun'an Ecological Special Zone to come into effect on January 1, 2022.
Zhejiang government approved the establishment of the special zone in 2019, covering all of Chun'an County, which is under the jurisdiction of Hangzhou. It is one of the 74 national ecological zones in China with a high quality in the Yangtze River Delta.
Since 2019 local departments have explored sustainable development modes and innovative protective systems, aiming to develop the "Thousand Islands Lake Model" to protect the drinking water source.
In the 1960s, the Xin'anjiang Hydropower Station was converted from a reservoir to generate electricity, turning thousands of hilltops into islands and forming the present-day Thousand Islands Lake with 1,078 islands and winding roads and charming villages.
As the only ecological special zone in Zhejiang, Chun'an requires a legal system to balance ecological protection and economic development. The regulation was announced after months of drafting, building a regulatory mechanism in administrative management.
The picturesque view of the Thousand Islands Lake
As the main drinking water source in northern Zhejiang, Chun'an has sacrificed ecological protection for years, providing high-quality drinking water to neighboring cities, including Hangzhou and Jiaxing. Now, the regulation stipulates that these cities will offer lands to Chun'an in a bid to coordinate with the special ecological zone in economic development.
For many years, Chun'an has been a haven for people who love to go fishing, hiking and cycling. For hiking and cycling aficionados, the Thousand Islands Lake boasts one of the most picturesque offshore routes in Zhejiang. Today, regulations strictly protect the shores of the lake in efforts to sustainably develop the scenic area.
When President Xi Jinping was Zhejiang's Party secretary in the early 2000s, he developed the concept of "Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" – a byword for wealth – to reference a harmonious, symbiotic relationship between ecological protection and economic development.
Since then, Chun'an government has spared no effort to build a landscape of "lush mountains" with the prospect of "lucid waters," developing sustainable modes to boost people's wellbeing and preserve the natural environment at the same time.
