QINGDAO strives to become one of the world’s most livable cities in the next five years.

    A “blue sky” project to improve air quality will reduce emission of substances like sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide. The city will take off the street 80,000 yellow-labeled vehicles, which discharge highly pollutant exhaust gases. Plus, stricter motor vehicle emission standards will be introduced in the city.

    In addition, the city will continue pushing the construction of desulfurization facilities for coal burning boilers and promote low nitrogen combustion technology in the electricity industry.

    In the next five years, flue gas denitration technology will be applied to all generation units of 200,000 kilowatts or more.

    The city will also throw weight behind water quality improvement at the main rivers by pushing the pollution treatment of ten main rivers and completing the treatment of 22 polluted rivers.The protection of the sea area at Jiaozhou Bay and other coastal areas is expected to be stepped up. The protection of key drinking water sources like Laoshan Reservoir, Chanzi Reservoir and Dagu River will also be stepped up.

    The city aims to maintain good water quality at all sources by 2015.

    Besides, the city will construct more greenery including parks during the next five years.

    During this period, three ecological control zones in the east’s Laoshan Mountain, the north’s Dazhe Mountain and the south’s big and small Zhushan Mountains will be installed.

    By the end of 2015, the city’s forests will reach 356,000 hectares, covering 40 percent of the total area.

    The urban facelift campaign will be continued over the next five years, according to the city’s urban and countryside construction bureau.(Li Hao, Cui Wu)