Located at the distributary area of the Yangtze River system and the Pearl River system, Chenzhou is an important source of the Xiangjiang River, the Pearl River and the Ganjiang River.
The Dongjiang Lake in Chenzhou is the largest drinking water source and one of the strategic water sources for Hunan Province. The construction of Chenzhou National Sustainable Development Agenda Innovation Demonstration Area serves as an indispensable measure to give full play to the advantages of Chenzhou’s water resources and provide systematic solutions for the world to explore sustainable development of water resources.
Since the approval of the demonstration area, Chenzhou has focused on the theme of “sustainable utilization of water resources and green development” and been committed to developing itself into the model area for “lucid waters and lush mountains", demonstration area for green transformation and pioneer area for inclusive development.
Efforts have been made in six aspects of ecological protection of water sources, comprehensive control of heavy metal pollution and its sources, quality and efficiency improvement in urban sewage treatment, ecological industry development, construction of water-conserving society and water-conserving city, and technology innovation.
It has also deepened the construction model of water protection, water control, water utilization and water conserving, built the systematic water-control model and striven to build a quality environment with cleaner water.
In 2021, Chenzhou’s total GDP exceeded 250 billion yuan and the per capita disposable income of residents increased by 8.5 percent year on year. The proportion of days with good air quality rose to 97.8 percent.
Chenzhou also won the “Blue Sky Award for Global Green and Low-carbon Pioneer City”, and the sustainable development case of Zixing City was listed in the first batch of national practice modes and typical cases for the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.