A bird’s-eye view of Jinfeng town in Zhangjiagang, East China’s Jiangsu province [Photo/WeChat account: zjgcitynews]

Jinfeng town, also known as Metallurgy Industrial Park in Zhangjiagang, East China’s Jiangsu province, has made big progress in its environmental protection in 2019, according to local officials.

They said the average density of PM 2.5 -- the dangerous particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers – dropped to 37 micrograms per cubic meter this year. Meanwhile, the proportion of days with good air quality in the town reached 74.9 percent.

The water quality in main rivers has also been improved, with 100 percent meeting the provincial A standard. The local soil quality has remained stable, officials said.

They said the town has placed a lot of importance on improving the green credentials of the Shagang Group, China's largest private steelmaker, with 479 out of 570 environmentally friendly modification programs completed.

The local government also cleaned 87 rural streams, demolished 21 dams and built 21 bridges. A total of 655 aquiculture ponds were improved and a 12.8-kilometer long sewer network was built, serving 400 households.

Over the past year, the local government cracked down on 58 heavily polluting factories and ordered 72 businesses to rectify their facilities before restarting operations.

Officials said the local government will take more steps to protect the environment to ensure a more green development.