The sea breeze is blowing gently, and between the blue sea and the blue sky, a green path winds forward. In the afternoon of May 22, General Secretary Xi Jinping came to the Sunshine Coast Greenway in Rizhao, Shandong Province to learn about the local efforts to strengthen the ecological protection and restoration of the coastline and improve the quality of people's lives.

"Connect the city at one end and the nature at the other". The greenway is a green space growing in the urban texture and an idyllic idyll that can be reached in the busy life. From a broader perspective, the greenway is also a vivid footnote of "Better City, Better Life" in the process of modernization.

To "make life better", both the starting point and the destination are the people.

In the new era, the people have changed from "looking forward to food and clothing" to "looking forward to environmental protection", from "seeking survival" to "seeking ecology". The change of major social contradictions has also placed the construction of ecological civilization at an unprecedented height. "We must make a choice. What on earth do we want? The ecological environment is very important from the perspective of whether the people are satisfied or not, and whether they agree or not. This is also the most important point from the perspective of the focus on improving people's livelihood." Among the choices, the pattern, responsibility and feelings are highlighted.

Along the vast coastline to the south, in another coastal city - Fuzhou, the country road has become the bright name card of this "blessed state". In March 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out during his inspection on the Fudao Road in the suburbs of Fuzhou, "I hope to continue to build this coastal city, a city with mountains and rivers better and better for the people".

Benefiting the people, it embodies the ingenuity and perseverance of "people's city for people".

In the grand blueprint outlined in the "14th Five Year Plan", a separate chapter of "comprehensively improving the quality of the city" clearly puts forward "scientific planning and layout of urban green ring greenway green wedge greenway".

Sunlit Sunshine Coast Greenway, Chengdu Tianfu Greenway, Wuhan East Lake Greenway, Hangzhou Zhijiang Greenway... In recent years, various places have accelerated the construction of urban greenways according to local conditions. More and more "blessing roads" nourish people's leisure time and tell a vivid story of harmonious coexistence between people and the city, people and nature.

Step on the greenway, or walk alone, or ride in the countryside; Or climb the mountain to overlook, or have a picnic under the forest; You can see the lake, the sea and the sky... You can see mountains, water and nostalgia in the mountains and rivers, which is the "happiness road" around the people.

When entering the greenway, natural landscapes, cultural scenery and historical stories are interspersed with each other. Many tourists are admiring the "clocking in". More beautiful ecology, better environment and more lively tourism are the "development path" to enhance the vitality of the city.

The extension of greenway spreads the concept of green development and shared development. In Chengdu, the concept of building a park city was put forward, especially pointing out that "the characteristics of the park city should be highlighted, and the ecological value should be taken into account"; In Guilin, I told you to "protect the landscape of Guilin"; In Hanzhong, praising Tianhan Wetland Park as a "happiness park" for citizens... promoting urban green development is an important content that General Secretary Xi Jinping has paid attention to during his domestic inspection in recent years.

The extension of the greenway reflects the people centered development thought. Talking about urban greening, he told that "we should not deliberately pursue exotic flowers, rare plants and precious trees, and we should really plant trees for the people and benefit the people"; When talking about urban planning and construction, it is required to "integrate the concept of making people's lives more comfortable into the blood of urban planning and construction and reflect it in every detail"; Talking about urban governance, he stressed that "the fundamental purpose of promoting urban governance is to enhance the people's sense of gain, happiness and security"... General Secretary Xi Jinping always misses the "people" in urban development and cares about making people's lives better.

"The city is the people's city, and the people's city is the people." It is written in the largest and fastest urbanization process in world history, infiltrated in all aspects of urban work in the new era, and reflected in the ordinary life of hundreds of millions of people.

Planner: Du Shangze

Written by: Li Jianguang

Poster: Chen Xiaojin Zhang Ziyu

Photographer: Xie Huanchi

Vision: Bi Xiao, Yang Li Yan

Editor: Zhu Xiaoxi, Cao Jiwei

Checked by: Zhu Li

Editor in charge: Wang Shumiao SN242