In Gansu province's Gannan Tibetan autonomous prefecture, "No Littering" is not just printed on signs along the streets but is also written into every village's covenant - a list of rules for which residents voted - so it sticks in people's minds. The local government initiated a campaign called "No Trash in Sight" two years ago. Now the rule covers the whole jurisdiction. Around 403 villages in Gannan have earned the title Model Village of Ecological Civilization, an honor for accomplishing the objectives of the campaign. The number of such villages will grow to 1,500 by 2020 under a plan by the local government. It's easier said than done. People used to think that littering was a minor misbehavior, even though trash could be seen all around cities, villages and along highways. "At first, I doubted whether this was just a show," Yang Lin, a resident of Hezuo, said of the anti-littering effort. "After all, littering is such a small thing." But she soon noticed civil servants cleaning streets regularly, and more volunteers joining the campaign. It gradually became routine for every neighborhood in the city. Plastic bags are no longer offered in the supermarket. People who toss their cigarette butts on the ground get a fine. "My little daughter will now put the snack wrapper in her pocket and throw it in a trash bin," she said. Outside the city, the task is harder. "The hygiene in our village was poor," said Wu Shiying, 62, who lives in Lazan, a model village a 10-minute drive east of Hezuo. "Garbage, feces and piles of dirt were everywhere," he said. Over the past two years, the local government has invested more than 1 million yuan ($147,000) in village renovations, replacing dirt roads with concrete ones and building new public toilets. In the center of the village, a billboard was erected to display the covenant for protecting the environment. It specifies what residents will do to ensure the cleanness and tidiness of public areas. Residents divided themselves into three groups, managing village hygiene in designated areas, depending on where they live. "There shouldn't be any difference inside the home or out on the street," the covenant reads. Wu is head of the third group, and organizes cleanups on Tuesdays and Fridays. "I didn't care too much about the environment before, but my wife joined the campaign," said Tibetan resident Rigzin Dorjee, 34. "Now I realize that the cleaner the environment, the happier my heart." A government fund of more than 5 billion yuan has been created for communities across the prefecture to boost tourism. "These model villages will be like pearls on the grassland, attracting people to visit Gannan," said Yu Chenghui, Party chief of the prefecture. The prefecture received around 10 million visits in 2016, up from 5 million in 2014. [email protected]personalised silicone wristbandshow to make silicone bracelets24 hour wristbands couponmake rubber braceletsblack rubber wristbandscheap silicone wristbandsjordan wristbandflash drive wristband
The life expectancy of residents with household registration in Beijing reached 82.03 years last year, according to a health white paper released on Wednesday. The white paper, which reported on public health and Beijing residents' health conditions in 2016, was released by the Beijing municipal government and Beijing Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning. Life expectancy of Beijing residents is predicted to continue to grow slowly. Three main causes of death are cancer, heart attack and brain diseases, which together account for 72.3 percent of deaths, the white paper revealed. Death caused by endocrine and metabolic diseases increased by 10.8 percent, making them the fastest growing diseases. Cancer has been the number one killer since 2007 with lung cancer claiming the most people's lives in 2016. The occurrence of lung cancer rose by 27.5 percent from 2006 to 2015. Lung cancer occurred in more men than women in 2015, being the most common cancer for men. For women, although lung cancer is also prevalent, it is the second most common after breast cancer.
