The "Beautiful China" project was proposed by President Hu Jintao in an agenda-setting report to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing's Great Hall of the People in November.

The report stressed that the promotion of ecological progress is a long-term task of vital importance to the people's well-being and China's future.

It stated: "Faced with increasing resource constraints, severe environmental pollution and a deteriorating ecosystem, we must raise our ecological awareness of the need to respect, accommodate and protect nature.