On June 4, the Hunan main venue event for World Environment Day 2026 was held at the Daze Lake Near-Natural Wetland Park in Wangcheng District, Changsha City. Themed "Advancing All-round Green Transformation, Jointly Building a Beautiful China," the event showcased Hunan's overall achievements in ecological and environmental protection and the dedication of its ecological protection forces. The event aimed to motivate the entire province to work together in advancing green and low-carbon transformation, building a beautiful Hunan with blue skies, green land, and clear waters.

At the event.

Marking the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the year 2026 is critical for accelerating the construction of a beautiful Hunan and promoting fundamental improvements in the ecological environment. At the event, the 2025 Report on the State of the Ecology and Environment in Hunan Province was released, using authoritative data to showcase the continuous improvements in ecological environment quality across the province. Specifically, in 2025, the proportion of days with good air quality in urban areas reached 91.3%, with the concentration of PM2.5 down 4.7% year on year. The proportion of surface-water sections classified as good quality was 97.9%, while all of the centralized drinking water sources met the required standards, indicating that the ecological conditions remained generally stable.

A thematic video systematically reviewed Hunan's achievements in ecological civilization construction since the launch of the "14th Five-Year Plan," and clearly outlined the blueprint for ecological and environmental protection during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period. A poetry and dance performance "Beautiful Hunan, My Home" combined recitation with real-scene dance, showcasing the ecological transformations in such areas as Dawangshan, Yanghu Wetland, and the Guitang River in Changsha through a past-and-present comparison, depicting green landscapes of Hunan's rivers and mountains. The situational talk show "Father and Son in Environmental Protection" humorously told a touching story of the ecological protection forces steadfast on the front lines safeguarding clear waters and green mountains with technology, highlighting the responsibility and commitment of ecological workers in the new era. Typical Cases of Beautiful Hunan Construction were released on the same day, presenting local practices in ecological protection and green development, conveying the concept of co-contribution, joint governance, and shared benefits.

Representatives from all walks of life jointly release an environmental protection initiative.

Representatives from all walks of life jointly released an environmental protection initiative at the event, calling on all people across the province to become disseminators of ecological civilization, guardians of clear waters and lush mountains, promoters of green development, and practitioners of low-carbon lifestyles, safeguarding the lush mountains, clear waters, blue skies, and green land through concrete actions.

Volunteers share straw reuse knowledge to the public at an interactive area.

Primarily using natural and recycled materials such as logs and FSC-certified recycled honeycomb cardboard, the setups for the event's check-in points were assembled in a Lego-like style that can be disassembled for recycling. The ecological corridor used wooden frames with eco-friendly fabric, employing soy-based waterborne ink and biodegradable bio-based printable fabric to implement green printing. The achievements display area used eco-friendly materials like corrugated paper, straw rope, biodegradable notes, and waste plastic bottles and dedicated recycling collection bags, turning waste into treasure. The interactive area showcased achievements in blue skies, clear waters, and pure land initiative through games and science popularization, creating a strong atmosphere where everyone cares about, participates in, and protects the environment.

"Through the interactive games, I learned about the reuse of straw and what substances harm the soil," said Zhu Huiyi, a student from Changsha Environmental Protection Vocational College. She noted that she gained much environmental knowledge at the event and realized that ordinary people can participate in environmental protection actions by doing what they can.

People participate in a low-carbon challenge game. 

After the main event, a "Take a Low-Carbon Eco-Walk, Jointly Build Ecological Beauty" activity commenced in an orderly manner. Participants walked along the footpath around the Daze Lake, taking part in check-in activities along the way including eco-themed photo spots, environmental quizzes, and green commitment walls. They learned about environmental protection and practiced a green, low-carbon lifestyle in a relaxed and interactive atmosphere.

The event was jointly hosted by the Department of Ecology and Environment, the Social Work Department, and the Civilization Office of Hunan Province, as well as the CPC Changsha Municipal Committee and the Changsha Municipal People's Government. It served not only as a centralized display of Hunan's achievements in ecological civilization construction, but also as a practice of public participation in ecological governance. Looking ahead, Hunan will always bear in mind the earnest instruction "Protecting the Yangtze River," steadfastly follow the path of prioritizing ecology and green development, accelerate the comprehensive green transformation of development methods, continuously improve ecological and environmental quality, enhance ecological governance capabilities, and strive to write a new Hunan chapter in building a beautiful China.

All the photos above were provided by the Ecology and Environment Department of Hunan Province.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.  

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: Voice of Hunan