Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, enjoyed 356 blue-sky days last year, as many Chinese cities continue to be troubled by air pollution.

According to a communique from the Tibet Environmental Protection Department, the air quality in Lhasa qualified as "excellent" or "good" for more than 97 percent of last year, making it the third-least smoggy of 74 monitored Chinese cities.

The superior air quality is attributable to the city's relatively low level of industrial discharge and a string of green measures, said Zhuang Jihong, deputy head of the department, on Monday.

Lhasa strictly controls the number of high-polluting factories and provides environmentally-friendly heating and natural gas supplies to urban residents, Zhuang said. Tibetans traditionally burned coal, wood or even animal dung as fuels.

In addition, the city is gradually eliminating diesel-powered buses on its street and has installed air purifiers for more than 200 restaurants.

Lhasa has enjoyed "excellent" or "good" air quality for more than 90 percent of each year since 2000, according to official data.