Taiyuan in North China's Shanxi province, once a city of heavy industry, has become a livable destination that many people yearn for due to the continuous improvement of the ecological environment. 

The ozone concentration in Taiyuan decreased for the first time in 2022 after six years of growth. In particular, the ozone concentration in August fell to 175 micrograms per cubic meter, down 15.5 percent year-on-year and the largest decline in the last six years. 

The number of days with good air quality in urban Taiyuan was 241 last year, an increase of 17 over 2021. 

Yang Jisheng, head of the atmospheric environment section of the Taiyuan bureau of ecology and environment, said that the results were partially due to emissions treatment and reduction among local enterprises since last May. 

More birds have been sighted in the city, with their habitat stretching from the Fenhe wetlands to Jinyang Lake, thanks to Taiyuan's continuous promotion of water ecological restoration and tree planting.

With the implementation of a series of water ecological treatment projects, the quality of the water in the Fenhe River has been better since monitoring data became available. In 2022, the first annual assessments of the six national surface water assessment sections in the city were all above Class III – an excellent level in China's water classification. 

Taiyuan has coordinated the systematic treatment of mountains, farm fields, forests, lakes and grasslands.

By the end of 2021, Taiyuan's green coverage area was 16,117.2 hectares, and the greening coverage rate reached 44.77 percent. 

In addition, the city has promoted green and low-carbon transportation. Early in 2016, the city replaced all 8,292 taxis with pure electric vehicles, becoming the first city in China to adopt electric taxis. The replacement is expected to reduce nitrogen oxides by 807 metric tons, carbon monoxide by 3,886 tons, and hydrocarbons by 850 tons per year. 

Last year, all bus lines in urban Taiyuan used electric buses, and more than 50,000 people participated in regular cycling in the city.