Written by: Xinhua News Agency
Posted on: August 29, 2018 | 
| 中文
Xiamen
At Gulangyu, local residents can see white dolphins jumping and playing in the waters from their homes; in the sea area of Huancuo, there is the only national Amphioxus Nature Reserve in China; in Xiamen, there is the reputed “island of egrets,” in which egrets are found everywhere. Located on the southeast coast of China, Xiamen is well-known for its extremely beautiful marine ecology.
Chinese white dolphins are very rare and their survival depends on the abundance of biological species. Amphioxi demand a very high quality of water. In recent years, thanks to the good marine ecology of Xiamen Bay, which benefits from improved environment, the population of Chinese white dolphins and the species density of Amphioxi, have been witnessing a steady increase.
According to the statistics by Xiamen Marine Departments, nearly 2000 marine species are found in Xiamen Bay, many of which are quite rare species. In 2012, Xiamen Bay was announced as one of the first pilot zones of marine ecological civilization construction, by the State Oceanic Administration. Xiamen National Nature Reserve for Rare Marine Species has ranked first, with the highest total scores for two consecutive years, in the assessment of aquatic biological nature reserves, held by the Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China.
Fine ecology has not only provided ideal habitats for marine lives but also attracted lots of admiring tourists. “We have come especially for the sea of Xiamen. It’s really wonderful,” said Liu Chen, who came from Heilongjiang province of China during the summer holidays and enjoyed swimming with his child in the waters off-shore, “The sea water is so clean, which is very unusual!”
The whole of Xiamen city covers a land area of over 1600 square kilometers, and a sea area of about 390 square kilometers. Its coastline extends for 226 km, including 31.7 km of deep-water coastline. The rugged and diversified coastline has endowed the bay area with a compound capacity.
In Xiamen, the city is on the sea and the sea is in the city. Xiamen has been committed to restoring and protecting the marine resources. In Wuyuan Bay and Maluan Bay where silt used to be rather thick, so far 170 million cubic meters of silt has been removed, so that the tidal prism has increased to over 50 million cubic meters.
Thanks to Gaoji (Gaoqi-Jimei) seawall reconstruction project, Dadeng Bridge project, sluice-building project of Maluan seawall, and other major projects that Xiamen has been carrying out in recent years, the hydrodynamic force and water quality has greatly improved and marine debris has reduced in the sea area off Xiamen.
In Xiatanwei sea area of Xiangan District, the 60 hectares of mangroves, planted for the marine ecological restoration, have now turned the area into a view; 30 kilometers of the coastline has been repaired, and more than 1 million square meters of man-made beaches have been built.
It has had a great deal to do with the sea that Xiamen could win such honors as the “UN-Habitat Award,” the title of “International Garden City,” and the title of “China’s Civilized City.”
Basically, the protection of marine ecology cannot be separated from institutional guarantee. Through legislation by the local People's Congress, Xiamen has formulated “Provisions as to the Marine Environmental Protection of Xiamen City.” So far, more than 30 laws and regulations have been formulated concerning the marine environment.
In addition, Xiamen also takes the lead in the implementation of the eco-city construction planning, drawing red lines for marine ecology. The principle of "one vote veto" is followed in the implementation of ecological civilization construction. The first integrated marine law enforcement team in China has been founded with administrative establishment. Xiamen has been awarded honors such as the Gold Prize of Outstanding Achievement in the Governmental Integrated Coastal Management of PEMSEA and the Prize of Outstanding Achievement in Sustainable Development.
The local volunteers and public welfare organizations are actively involved in environmental protection. Recently, a group of environmental protection volunteers organized the public activities of cleaning up solid marine waste, at Xiamen Dabaicheng Beach. "The sea of Xiamen is for all of us, and everyone is under an obligation to protect it," said Wang Zhongwu, President of City Volunteer Association from Siming District.
Born by the sea, Xiamen thrives on and prospers with the sea. It has already developed a marine economic system, whose main body includes port shipping, coastal tourist trade, coastal industry and marine high-tech industry.
Translated by Lu Qingmei
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