Tourists are sailing on the waters near Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian province. (People's Daily Online/Xie Yingjun)

The clear waters and green shores of the Yundang Lake, the white egrets playing in Xiatanwei Coastal Wetland, and the azure sky above the Wuyuan Bay...These ecological masterpieces in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian province serve as a vivid portrayal of the coordinated development of ecology and economy, as well as the harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

Xiamen is a key birthplace and early adopter of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. In March 1988, seeing the polluted Yundang Lake where almost no trace of aquatic animals could be found, Xi Jinping, who then served as a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China Xiamen Municipal Committee and executive vice mayor of Xiamen, put forward the request to carry out a plan that detailed legal governance, stopping pollution, dredging work, revitalization of the body of water and improvement of the surrounding environment.

After five phases of large-scale treatment, the once "stinky lake" has been transformed into a "green lung" of the city. Starting with the comprehensive treatment of the Yundang Lake, Xiamen has actively promoted ecological protection and restoration of sea, river basins, and the entire region for over 30 years.

Tourists walk on a fitness trial in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian province. (People's Daily Online/Zeng Demeng)

It has explored a path to ecological civilization that well coordinates high-quality development and ecological protection, and promotes the harmonious coexistence between man and the sea, which shapes a beautiful ecological environment, promotes high-quality development, and improves the quality of life. This mirrors the positive progress made by Xiamen in development philosophy and approach, and serves as a vivid example of advancing ecological civilization.

A sound eco-environment is the fairest public product and the most inclusive public benefit. From carrying out beach restoration projects to keeping the most beautiful beaches for the people, to constructing marine and wetland parks, beautiful shorelines, and recreational trails around lakes and bays, and to exploring an ecological management model of co-construction, co-governance and co-sharing to benefit the people with a sound ecology, Xiamen has consistently prioritized addressing the most pressing environmental concerns that directly impact and are of utmost importance to the public, so as to better practice the notion that "Every person is a protector, contributor, and beneficiary of the environment," and fully motivate the initiative and creativity of the people.

Over the past 30 years, Xiamen has been committed to building a community of life that incorporates mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands and deserts. The city has taken a law-based, science-based, holistic and coordinated approach to governance and tried to resolve root causes of problems in environmental protection.

Photo shows the Gulangyu scenic area of Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian province. (People's Daily Online/Wang Wangwang)

This has led to continuous improvement in the modernization of ecological environment governance, achieving a positive interaction between high-level ecological protection and high-quality development. Xiamen has successfully embarked on a path of high-quality development that prioritizes environmental optimization for growth and uses development to enhance the environment.

Respecting nature, adapting to nature and protecting nature to promote harmonious coexistence between man and nature is a distinctive feature of Chinese modernization. Currently, China's economic and social development has entered a stage of accelerated green and low-carbon development, and it is an important period for building a beautiful China.

China is planning and promoting ecological and environmental protection, continuously enhancing the potential and momentum of high-quality development, and promoting harmonious coexistence between man and nature with a higher perspective, broader vision, and greater efforts. It is striving to build a beautiful homeland with blue skies, green landscapes, and clean waters, and to compose a magnificent chapter of Chinese modernization.