Outlining the priorities

"A beautiful China should have bright sunshine, clear water and clean air. But last year, air pollution was one of the most-discussed topics among Chinese people. I think the priority in the development of a beautiful China should be to clean the air," said Zhu Zhongyi, director of Xiacheng district NPC Standing Committee in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

"An air pollution prevention system should be established. When the pollution levels are high, the government should release warnings and related guidelines through all types of traditional and social media."

On Jan 12, under the title "Building a Beautiful China", the Fujian Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, one of the country's most important advisory bodies, held a meeting entitled "Enhancing Wetland Protection."

The coastal province has been losing its wetland at a significant rate in recent years, and, according to statistics from the Fujian provincial department of forestry, more than 90,000 hectares of wetland disappeared from 2000 to 2010. Wetland currently accounts for 870,000 hectares across the province.

Pan Liang, a political adviser and official with the Fujian committee of the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party, said industrial pollution and overfishing, once seen as major threats to the wetland, have already become part of the problem.

"The wetland has been swallowed up by land reclamation and large infrastructure projects in recent years," said Pan, adding that some real estate developers have shamelessly used these areas of natural beauty as promotional tools for real estate projects.

On Jan 15, the provincial government's legislative affairs office said legislation will be stepped up. Because conservation of the wetland involves several different administrative departments, the regulations will clearly define the areas applicable to each department and coordinate their actions.