Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province has been selected as one of 19 Chinese cities to pilot the national government's "urban improvement and ecological recovery program", the Ningbo bureau of urban planning has announced.

Launched by China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the plan is designed to tackle the mounting environmental issues plaguing China's cities and promote the country's transition to a more sustainable growth model.

The only city in Zhejiang to be included in the trial, Ningbo will now launch an investigation to assess the state of the city's environment and urban management, before drawing up a plan to implement the urban improvement and ecological recovery program.

The city's ambition is to raise the city's appearance and environmental protection to a new level in two years.

Ningbo will be hoping to achieve similarly impressive results as Sanya, the city in tropical island province Hainan that was the first area to trial the program in 2015.

Sanya's success in reducing pollution and improving its beaches by shutting down polluting factories, demolishing illegal buildings and importing sand and mangroves drew high praise at a government summit attended by more than 90 Chinese mayors in December.

The central government is now hoping to replicate this success by introducing similar programs in cities across the country.

Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province aims to make significant improvements to its appearance and environment within two years. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]