Hundreds of students and some officials and armed police from Lanzhou City of Gansu Province, northwest China, attended an activity in Lanzhou on December 11 aimed to better protect the environment of the Yellow River.

Participants wrote their names on a banner for soliciting the signatures of a million people which has been used in publicity campaigns held in Shandong, Henan, and Shaanxi provinces. The signing campaign is jointly organized by the Environment and Resources Committee of the National People's Congress, the State Council's Development Research Center and several other government departments.

Lanzhou, capital of Gansu, is the only city which the Yellow River runs through. As a result of industrial and agricultural development and other human activities, the city is now facing a shortage of water resources and water pollution.

Activities of the same kind will also be held in Taiyuan, Yinchuan and Xining cities, and the banner with one million people 's names will be collected by the Museum of Chinese History.