Dividing the living environment into “being livable” and “being enjoyable”, Governor of Guangdong Province Huang Huahua clarified on October 10, the different stages in constructing a city suitable for residence. According to Zhongshan Environmental Protecting Departments, Zhongshan has refused nearly 100-billion-yuan investment which would cause pollution in recent years. 

Zhongshan citizens and those who have been to the city consider Zhongshan a livable and enjoyable place—it is a city in the garden and a garden in the city.

Since the 1980s Zhongshan has put equal emphasis on ecological protection as much as on economic progress, striving to build a green city with clean water, blue sky and singing birds. Zhongshan has long invested a large amount of money to improve the ecological environment. Especially, with the economy developing rapidly during the past 10 years, Zhongshan has started such environmental protection projects as Water Cleaning, Greening, Pollution Managements and Production with Clean Process in an all-round way. It has been more committed to the construction of a cultural as well as famous city. Much progress has been made, including libraries and sports square in every town and agricultural book rooms and sports parks in every village, all of which are free to the public. Zhongshan has got straight honors such as National Civilized City, National Garden City, National Model City in Environmental Protection, National Excellent Touristy City and National Ecological Model City.