The Yuanbao Mountain Natural Reserve in Liuzhou. [Photo by Wang Jian/Guangxi Daily]

Liuzhou of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region recently entered the List of Top 20 Chinese Green Cities, the only city in Guangxi to win the honor.

The list was released by Beijing Forestry University and the Chinese Green City Research Institute through comprehensive evaluation, something they have been doing since 2020.

The total forestry area in Liuzhou now stands at 1.25 million hectares and the city's forest coverage rate has been maintained above 67 percent. In 2022, the city finished afforestation of 338,500 mu (22,567 hectares), surpassing the annual target of 150,000 mu (10,000 hectares).

It is expected that the city's total forestry industrial output value in 2022 will reach 74 billion yuan ($12 billion), of which 4.47 billion yuan will be contributed by the primary industry of forestry with a year-on-year increase of 3 percent.

Among the other 19 cities on the list are Sanming of Fujian province, Lishui of Zhejiang province and Huangshan of Anhui province. These cities are expected to be leaders countrywide in green city construction, becoming examples of ecological civilization construction and the harmonious co-existence between humankind and nature.