Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province, has seen great success in improving its environment over the past decade, as it pursues becoming a livable modern city.

"In recent years, Jinan achieved improvement in ecological environment protection while boosting economic growth, demonstrating that Jinan is paving a way in green and sustainable development," said Liu Qiang, Party secretary of Jinan at a news conference on Sept 27.

Air quality has improved over the past 10 years. Statistics show that the city's concentration of PM2.5, the most important benchmark of air quality, dropped by 61.2 percent during the 2013-21 period, and the number of days with good air quality in the city increased by 106 percent.

In the first seven months of this year, the air quality composite index continued to improve by 6.3 percent year on year, rising 12 places in the national key cities ranking and achieving the best record.

Over the last decade, local authorities adhered to the systematic management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grass, sand and glaciers with a total land area of 613, 000 mu (40,866.67 hectares) planted. Jinan created a more livable environment for local residents. The number of parks over 500 square meters in the city reached 1,086 last year, and are expected to reach 1,153 by the end of this year.

In the future, continuous efforts will be made to promote green and low carbon development, as well improve how the city is managed, in order to turn it into a livable capital for all.

Quancheng Square, a landmark of Jinan, East China's Shandong province [Photo/VCG]