Xi Jinping laments stone quarrying as he mines green theme in Guangxi
- Mountain could be lost to quarrying, while Guilin’s ‘one and only’ Li River needs protection, president says
- Conservation has been a recurring message of Xi’s tours around the country
In Guilin, the second-largest city in Guangxi, Xi took a boat to inspect the ecological condition of the Li River, a popular tourist destination. The river stretches more than 400km (250 miles) through karst hills and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
Hailing the river as a “one and only” treasure, Xi said the environment should not be damaged.
“The most terrible thing is stone quarrying. We will forever lose this mountain if we damage it,” Xi was quoted by state news agency Xinhua as saying. “[We should] hold people accountable for over-mining and stone quarrying and investigate their criminal responsibilities in accordance with the law.”
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Xi also on Sunday visited a memorial park dedicated to the Battle of the Xiang River, during the Long March in the 1930s, and laid a flower basket as a tribute to those who died.
Conservation has been a regular theme of Xi’s inspection tours around the country. During his trip to the southeastern province of Fujian last month, the president said that the local government should make ecological conservation its top target, and integrate environmental protection, green development and improving livelihoods.
