A visitor views a photo exhibition themed on the International Biodiversity Day in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on May 22, 2024. [Photo/IC]

East China's Zhejiang province marked International Biodiversity Day in advance on May 13 by unveiling six new provincial-level biodiversity experience sites and releasing its 2024 city biodiversity friendliness rankings.

Launched in 2023, Zhejiang's Biodiversity Friendliness Index is the first of its kind at the provincial level in China. It evaluates how well cities are protecting biodiversity and supports science-based policy decisions.

This year's top three cities were Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Lishui. Shaoxing, Taizhou, and Hangzhou showed the greatest improvement year-on-year.

The newly designated biodiversity sites — bringing the total to 45 across the province — include Anji Bamboo Expo Park. These sites are part of Zhejiang's pioneering initiative, introduced in 2021, to turn natural areas into immersive and educational tourism destinations.

In 2024, Zhejiang's biodiversity experience sites received over 15 million visitors and generated 750 million yuan ($104 million) in tourism revenue, showing how ecological preservation and economic development can go hand in hand.