Over the years, Taiyuan City has invested a total of billions of yuan to implement various afforestation projects covering millions of mu, improve the quality of forests on millions of mu, ensure that all administrative villages have public green spaces, and successively establish several suburban forest parks with distinct characteristics on the eastern and western mountains. The forest coverage rate has reached %.

◆ From year to year, all national monitoring sections in Taiyuan City maintained water quality at Class III or above, with the excellent rate reaching 100% for two consecutive years. In a specific year, the compliance rate of the city's national and provincial monitoring sections increased from a previous percentage to another percentage, indicating continuous improvement and an overall positive trend in water environment quality.

Through continuous and persistent governance, Taiyuan City achieved a comprehensive pollution index of [value] in [year], marking a "four consecutive years of decline" and entering the historic ".[value]+" era. By [year], the air quality index further dropped to [value], with the number of good air quality days in the urban area increasing by [number] days compared to the previous year, and the number of heavily polluted days decreasing by [number] days, demonstrating sustained improvement in air quality.

◆ Taiyuan City will implement the "One Network for Unified Management" of urban operations as a pivotal project to enhance urban management capabilities. It will integrate all aspects related to people's livelihoods—such as water, electricity, gas, heating, property management, building safety, engineering quality, demolition, and commercial housing sales management—into the platform. Through technological empowerment, the initiative aims to achieve intelligent and refined urban management.

Nestled among three mountains and bisected by a river, Taiyuan City in Shanxi Province is a nationally renowned historical and cultural city with over 2,500 years of history. As early as the Song and Yuan dynasties, there was a saying: "The splendid Zhengding Prefecture, the magnificent Taiyuan City." However, due to its long-term role as a national base for energy and heavy chemical industries, the city became overly industrialized, leading to ecological damage and a period where its natural beauty faded.

In [specific month and year], the *General Plan for National Forest City Construction in Taiyuan, Shanxi (20XX-20XX)* passed the expert review meeting of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, proposing the vision of "Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains, Forested Taiyuan." In [specific month and year], the construction of the Shanxi Central Urban Agglomeration, with Taiyuan at its core, was included in the national 14th Five-Year Plan. In [specific month and year], the *Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Promoting High-Quality Development in the Central Region in the New Era* mentioned Taiyuan in [specific number] instances. By the end of 20XX, Taiyuan was selected as one of the first batch of carbon peak pilot cities and industrial parks designated by the National Development and Reform Commission, accelerating the green transformation of its economic and social development. In [specific month and year], the State Council approved the *Taiyuan Territorial Space Master Plan (20XX-20XX)*, emphasizing a people-centered approach, balancing development and security, promoting harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, leveraging functions such as an advanced manufacturing base in North China, and striving to compose the Taiyuan chapter of Chinese modernization.

The 12th Provincial Congress of Shanxi Province clearly proposed to build Taiyuan into a national regional central city. The Shanxi Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government jointly issued the "Opinions on Supporting Taiyuan City in Building a National Regional Central City to Better Play a Leading Role." Departments such as the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Science and Technology, Industry and Information Technology, Commerce, Culture and Tourism, and Ecological Environment are working together to promote ecological improvement, industrial upgrading, and urban quality enhancement in Taiyuan.

Tourists admire cherry blossoms at Yuquanshan Suburban Forest Park in Taiyuan City (Photo taken on [date, month, year]) by Yang Chenguang / The Magazine

Comprehensive Mountain Management: Building an Ecological Framework for Harmonious Integration of Mountains and the City

Since the onset of winter, the chill has deepened, yet every day numerous cycling enthusiasts set out from downtown Taiyuan, winding their way up the Dongshan Tourist Highway to reach the Wangjiashan Forest Sports Park on the city's outskirts. Standing on the park's observation deck, the lush greenery of the mountains stretches before the eyes, and the crisp air fills the nostrils, offering a refreshing and uplifting experience.

More than a year ago, this place was still a loess landfill. Soil excavated from urban construction was continuously transported here, accumulating millions of cubic meters over the years. "Covered in dust on sunny days and mud on rainy days" was a true depiction of life for the surrounding residents. In the spring of a certain year, Taiyuan City implemented an ecological comprehensive remediation project on the Wangjiashan loess landfill. Today, nearly a million trees of various species, including arbor, shrubs, and ground cover plants, have been planted here. Football fields, basketball courts, tennis courts, and fitness trails have been built, transforming the area into a forest park that integrates leisure tourism, sports and wellness, and educational activities.

The transformation of Wangjiashan Mountain is a microcosm of Taiyuan's comprehensive mountain management efforts. Viewed from above, Taiyuan's terrain resembles a dustpan, with the foothills of the Lüliang and Taihang mountain ranges embracing the city to the north, surrounded by mountains on the east, west, and north, while the central and southern areas form the Fen River Valley. These mountains are a vital part of the city's ecosystem, playing a key role in maintaining regional ecological balance.

To systematically and comprehensively develop national forest cities, the goal of greening all suitable areas has been largely achieved. In [specific month and year], Taiyuan City held a mobilization meeting for the creation of a national forest city, initiating large-scale land greening efforts. Each year, the municipal government assigns afforestation tasks, adhering to the principles of selecting suitable trees for specific locations and implementing differentiated designs and construction methods. With a focus on scientific greening and precise measures, Taiyuan has introduced a series of technical guidelines, including afforestation (and grass planting) directives and upgraded technical standards for forestation projects. Additionally, an expert advisory database covering forest cultivation, fire prevention, pest control, ecological culture, and other fields has been established to strengthen technical support. Meanwhile, measures such as the adoption of forest land and trees have been introduced to innovate funding mechanisms. Over [specific number of] years, Taiyuan has invested a total of [specific amount in billions] billion yuan, implementing various afforestation projects covering [specific area in millions of mu], improving forest quality across [specific area in millions of mu]. Every administrative village now has public green spaces, and [specific number] of uniquely themed suburban forest parks have been developed in the eastern and western mountain areas, achieving a forest coverage rate of [specific percentage]%.

Managing Mines and Healing Scars: Accelerating the Restoration of Damaged Mountains to Build Green Mines. As a long-standing energy and heavy chemical industry base, Taiyuan has accumulated significant ecological deficits, making the tasks of ecological protection and restoration arduous. Focusing on the pain points, challenges, and bottlenecks in ecological governance, Taiyuan has innovated mechanisms and aligned with the requirements of comprehensive open-pit mine remediation and green mine construction to expedite the restoration of damaged mountains. "Greening barren mountains sounds easier than it is—this entire mountain is covered in fly ash, making it hard for trees to survive," said Fu Xiaoqing, head of the Taiyuan Xishan Changfeng Suburban Park, pointing to a tree pit. Beneath a meter-thick layer of soil lies dark gray fly ash. "After expert evaluation, we found that covering the fly ash with a layer of loess before planting allows vegetation to take root and thrive." On one hand, Taiyuan has increased investment, raising the per-acre greening budget from the original standard to a higher level. On the other hand, it is working to reduce mining-induced damage to mountains at the source by guiding mining companies toward green development and promoting the resource utilization of bulk solid waste such as fly ash and coal gangue.

Promote the integration of forestry, agriculture, culture, and tourism, and improve the value realization mechanism for ecological products. Leveraging the advantages of its central location in the provincial capital and well-developed infrastructure, Taiyuan City has advanced income growth through health and wellness tourism in its ring-city forest parks, developing new industries and formats such as ecological experiences and forest wellness. The city has created distinctive eco-tourism routes and implemented comprehensive projects like the "Xishan Guiyuan" in Jiancaoping District, the "Yingxiang Weilai" educational base in Yangqu County, and the Mengshan Cultural Tourism Scenic Area in Jinyuan District. These initiatives explore new models where beautiful environments drive economic development, with the Jinci Tianlongshan successfully upgrading to a national-level tourist attraction.

An egret forages in the Fenhe River in Taiyuan City. Photo by Zhan Yan / The Outlook

Systematic Water Management to Ensure a Clear Flow into the Yellow River

Located in the northern inland, Taiyuan boasts a rare water system: the Fen River, the second-largest tributary of the Yellow River, flows through the city from north to south, joined by nine rivers originating from the eastern and western mountains. The Jinyang Lake, transformed from a thermal power plant reservoir, glistens like a pearl in the southwest of the city, creating a water landscape described as "a central river dividing the city, nine rivers encircling it, and a lake adding the finishing touch." Building on earlier efforts, Taiyuan has adopted a systematic approach to manage water resources comprehensively, advancing water pollution control, ecological restoration, and water resource constraints in tandem, painting a picturesque scene of "rivers as beautiful as a painting."

Addressing the root causes to secure a victory in the "Blue Sky and Clean Water Battle." Historically, the Fen River and its tributaries once suffered from being "either dry or polluted." After decades of relentless efforts, the water quality in the Taiyuan section of the Fen River achieved a historic turnaround, with all six national monitoring sites eliminating Class V- (inferior to Class V) water bodies. Now, a new and higher goal has been set—to transition from eliminating Class V- to consistently achieving Class III water quality, marking another tough battle. Initiatives such as upgrading sewage treatment plants, integrating all rural domestic sewage into municipal pipelines, advancing stormwater and sewage diversion projects, continuously remediating urban black and odorous water bodies, enhancing industrial wastewater treatment, leveraging new technologies for routine supervision, and refining water quality assessment and incentive mechanisms have been implemented. By identifying the root causes and applying targeted measures, Taiyuan has achieved remarkable results in its water pollution control campaign: From [year] to [year], all national monitoring sites in Taiyuan maintained water quality at Class III or above, with an excellent rate of 100% for two consecutive years. In [year], the compliance rate of the city’s national and provincial monitoring sites (totaling [number]) rose from [previous year's percentage] to [current year's percentage], demonstrating sustained and overall improvement in water quality.

Adapt measures to local conditions to restore the aquatic ecosystem of the Fenhe River basin. During the cold winter season, at the Jinci Temple, a nationally protected key cultural heritage site, small clear springs occasionally gush from the "First Spring of Jinyang," the Jinci Spring, and nearby water channels. Due to extensive extraction of karst groundwater in the spring area and large-scale development of the Xishan coal field, the Jinci Spring had dried up in previous years, with the water level at its lowest point falling below the spring outlet.