People in Yangzhou city, east China’s Jiangsu province, have hailed General Secretary Xi Jinping’s instructions on the development of the Grand Canal cultural belt and the preservation and utilization of the Grand Canal during his inspection tour in the city last week.
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, stressed the importance of building ecological civilization in advancing the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta on November 13 when visiting an ecological and cultural park in Sanwan area in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province.
Noting that remarkable achievements have been made from top-level design to implementation, Xi urged continuous efforts to carry forward the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta.
Building ecological civilization directly concerns the happiness of the people, bears significance to the growth of young people, and meets the consensus and aspiration of the broad masses of the people, Xi said.
Zhang Liusen was greeted by Xi Jinping on November 13 when he was taking a stroll in the ecological and cultural park in Sanwan. Recalling the warm interaction with the General Secretary, he appeared to be a little shy in excitement.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that for thousands of years the Grand Canal has nourished the cities and people on both sides and he hoped that all the people will join hands to protect the Grand Canal so that the canal will always benefit the people.
The general secretary’ speech made Tang Weihua very emotional. As a participant in the construction of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt, he witnessed the great changes in Sanwan and the Yangzhou section of the Grand Canal.
Since 2014, Yangzhou has carried out environmental remediation in the Sanwan area by relocating enterprises, demolishing docks, cleaning up illegal buildings, and implementing water system dredging, revetment reconstruction, and wetland restoration. The polluted and smelly pond is now a 4A scenic area that everyone wants to visit.
The General Secretary urged the local government to give full play to the protection of the cultural heritage of the Grand Canal with the promotion of ecological environmental protection, the protection and restoration of famous cities and towns along the route, the integration and development of cultural tourism, and the transformation and upgrading of the shipping in the canal so as to create favorable conditions for the economic and social development of the region along the Grand Canal and the improvement of people's lives.
(Source：ourjiangsu.com)
