Greening China’s growth #CGTN

Sunlight filters through the rolling hills of bamboo that blanket Anji, a small county in eastern China where scenes from the Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon were filmed. At dawn, the scent of tea and woodsmoke drifts from homestay kitchens as tourists from Shanghai and Hangzhou flock here for a slower rhythm of life. Two decades ago, however, the landscape told a very different story. Mines and cement plants once dominated the local economy. “We went to work before dawn and came back after dark. We’d head out clean and return looking like pandas, our faces covered in soot. Young people who left rarely wanted to come back,” recalls Pan Chunlin, a former miner turned guesthouse owner. “We used to start the day hauling rocks from the mines. Now, we start it shopping for groceries and welcoming tourists.” The transformation began in the early 2000s, when Anji’s government made the momentous decision to close its mines and invest in environmental restoration. The county soon became a pilot site for China’s green development agenda – proving that local prosperity can grow in harmony with nature rather than at its expense. Today, Anji’s economy is powered by bamboo manufacturing, renewable materials, and rural tourism. Tourism alone accounts for a significant share of local income, supported by thousands of homestays. The county has remained at the top of China’s Top 100 Counties for Tourism Competitiveness for six consecutive years. Tourism now makes up more than a fifth of farmers’ direct income. “The biggest change brought by Yucun’s improved environment is that our incomes have increased,” Pan adds. “Before, we earned only a few thousand yuan a year. Now, we can make that in a single day.” For residents, the transformation is tangible. The air is cleaner, the rivers run clear again, and young people are returning to start businesses. The county offers a glimpse of China’s just transition – the move from resource-based growth to sustainable prosperity. What began as an act of environmental necessity has evolved into a quiet economic revolution, where nature itself is the source of a better future.