In a recent development, 11 provinces and municipalities along the Yangtze River have finished drawing ecological protection red lines, marking a stride in fortifying the environmental security barrier along the river, the Ministry of Natural Resources said on Sunday.

The initiative began in 2019. So far, about 520,000 square kilometers are within the red line. This includes a land-based ecological protection red line spanning about 490,000 square kilometers and a marine ecological protection red line covering around 30,000 square kilometers.

These protected areas are concentrated in hilly terrains, including the Hengduan Mountain, the Wumeng Mountain, and the Yangtze and Lancang rivers.