Shanxi province has made remarkable progress in air, water, soil, and rural environmental management, as well as in solid waste pollution control, since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), marking a historic improvement in the province's ecological environment.

Shanxi has strengthened its joint prevention and control mechanism for air pollution in the Fenhe River Valley and implemented targeted actions, including summer ozone peak reduction and comprehensive autumn-winter air pollution control. As a result, the average PM2.5 concentration has dropped to 30 micrograms per cubic meter, a 34.8 percent reduction, and the proportion of days with good air quality has risen to 81.4 percent.

The province has completed investigations and management of sewage outfalls in major rivers, incorporating 5,420 outlets into its digital monitoring system, and 89 industrial parks have established centralized sewage treatment facilities. By 2025, all 16 tributaries flowing into the Yellow River achieved excellent water quality, with the main stream maintaining Class II water quality.

In soil and rural environment management, the safe utilization rate of contaminated arable land remains above 98 percent. A total of 573 rural black and odorous water bodies have been treated, increasing rural domestic sewage treatment rates to over 50 percent, a 40 percent improvement since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan.

Shanxi is the first province to have issued an action plan for preventing solid waste pollution, which systematically advances pollution source reduction, resource reuse, and safe disposal. The province has also included 495 tailings ponds on its environmental oversight list and brought over 8,500 hazardous-waste-generating enterprises under standardized management.