Statistics from the Beijing Municipal Statistics Bureau show that there are 4,989 hectares of greenbelts in the capital last year.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People 's Republic on October 1 and Macao's return to the motherland on December 20 last year, Beijing demolished 4.55 million sqm of illegal buildings and turned 1.3 million sqm into greenbelts. 2.24 million trees were planted last year.

The renovations to Tian'anmen Square extended greenbelts in the city by another 4,800 sqm. In total, some 270,000 trees, 322,000 sqm of greenbelts were added along the Avenue of Eternal Peace. Some 140,000 sqm of greenbelts in the inner city area have vastly improved the quality of air.

Beijing is now bidding for 2008 Olympic Games. Environmental conditions will obviously play a key role in Beijing bid.

To improve the environment, the municipal government has implemented 18 regulations to reduce air pollution, and 28 regulations to make the city greener. Some 46 billion yuan will be invested.

Statistics show that the green coverage rate for the urban area of the Chinese capital was 35.3 percent at the end of last year, raising the green coverage rate for the whole city to 42 percent.