Lhasa more than doubles public green space

Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, has more than doubled its per capita public green space over the last seven years, the regional government said on Tuesday. The average Lhasa resident enjoyed 9.6 square meters of green space by the end of 2013, 2.6 times the figure of 2007, according to the municipal forestry bureau. Local authorities have carried out ecological projects to protect Lhasa's environment. These included afforestation of the outskirts, setting up parks and increasing green belts. Liu Hua, an official with the local forestry bureau, said ecological progress has benefited Tibetan people. The number of sandstorm days in Lhasa has dropped from 13 in the 1980s to less than three now, according to statistics from the climate center of the Meteorological Bureau of Tibet. The city is suffering less from windy days because more trees are being planted, said Du Jun, deputy director of the center. "The city aims at making 98 percent of its urban main roads green by planting trees like poplar, elm and cedar," Liu Hua said.