A group of reporters will head for Shenzhen, Guangdong province, and Xiamen, Fujian province, to cover the topic of low-carbon cities under a media event called Journey to China's Ecological Cities and Towns.

"The 2013 event will focus on promoting ecological civilization toward a beautiful country," said Liu Guozheng, secretary-general of the China Forum of Environmental Journalists, which organized the event that was launched on Wednesday.

Liu said Shenzhen and Xiamen are among the first batch of 13 pilot low-carbon cities recognized by the National Development and Reform Commission in 2010 that have been making great progress in terms of promoting low-carbon industries, constructing green buildings, developing environment-friendly traffic systems and reducing emissions.

"Reporters will go to the two pilot low-carbon cities and undercover the progress and problems during their development process," he said.

Bai Zhijun, an official from the education and communication department of the Environmental Protection Ministry, said the stories generated from such activities will attract more public attention to environmental protection.

This is the sixth time the event has been held after its initiation in 2008. Former topics include investigations of environmental conditions along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and around the Taihu Lake.