CCTV9英语新闻：Clean and green target for Xiong'an New Area（在线收听）

One of the challenges the new economic zone faces is wetland preservation as in the middle of the area lays the largest freshwater reserve in Hebei province.

143 lakes, covering 360 square kilometers.... The Baiyangdian wetland is the largest freshwater lake in north China. It is also in the middle of the newly established Xiong'an New Area, a city of national level development. The protection and preservation of the wetland has become a major challenge.

Wang Xiaoye is an environmental protection activist. He has been promoting the protection of birds in the wetland. He is happy to see the New Area formed, yet he has some concerns.

One of the challenges the new economic zone faces is wetland preservation as in the middle of the area lays the largest freshwater reserve in Hebei province.

One of the challenges the new economic zone faces is wetland preservation as in the middle of the area lays the largest freshwater reserve in Hebei province.

The announcement of the new area on Friday stressed that the area should prioritize the wetland’s preservation. Wang is hoping that he could participate more in the environmental assessment process in future projects. 

In the meantime, the use of green energy is also improving. As this new area is located upon one of the largest geothermal reserves in north China. Geothermal energy in this area has replaced coal as the major energy source to provide heat in winter.

Qian Zhangtun lives in Xiongxian County, one of the three counties that was designated as part of the Xiong'an New Area. The heat for her apartment is provided by a geothermal well. 

"We used to burn coal for heating in winter, about seven to eight tons a year. It has a lot of smoke and is expensive. Using this geothermal system, our expenses have been reduced by half," Qian said.

The Baiyangdian wetland is the largest freshwater lake in north China. It is also in the middle of the newly established Xiong

The Baiyangdian wetland is the largest freshwater lake in north China. It is also in the middle of the newly established Xiong'an New Area, a city of national level development. The protection and preservation of the wetland has become a major challenge.

The project belongs to Sinopec, one of China’s top state-owned oil companies.

Sun Caixia is in charge of projects here, including 68 geothermal wells and 36 heat exchange stations.

In all, they provide heat to some ten thousand people in the county.

"For the past eight years, we have helped reduce nearly a million tons of coal consumption. We are providing heat to almost the entire county. It is a coal-free region now," Sun said. 

Sun is now expecting to expand such projects to more regions.

As the Xiong'an New Area takes shape, the environment in here is key to its future.