South China's Guangdong province has delivered a string of notable ecological conservation outcomes since the launch of the Ecological Construction of Green and Beautiful Guangdong. Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Maoming, Shenzhen, Qingyuan and Foshan have been rated "excellent".

In 2025, Guangdong consolidated its ecological achievements through the "forest chief" scheme, exceeding annual targets with 2.08 million mu (0.28 million hectares) of forest land optimization and 2.09 million mu of forest tending.

The Xijiang River Basin land greening demonstration project secured 856 million yuan ($128 million) in central government funding, with 359 forest sites each covering over 1,000 mu added in key ecological zones and urban peripheries.

Qiandeng Lake in Foshan. [Photo provided to Guangzhou Daily]

Substantial progress was made in national-level ecological platforms, including the approval of the South China National Botanical Garden construction plan and the launch of the National Pangolin Conservation and Research Center.

The province also deepened collective forest tenure reform, held over 42,900 voluntary tree-planting events (ranking first nationwide), and launched China's first forestry investment fund with an initial size of 2 billion yuan. Guangdong's "forest chief" scheme implementation was rated "good" in a national inspection.