Lhasa making progress in building "garden city"

　　BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhuanet) -- The government of Lhasa City has stepped up gardening and landscaping construction in a bid to build the city into a "garden city".

　　As a result, Lhasa has been becoming increasingly cleaner, according to the Tibet Daily.

　　Photo taken on June 4, 2009 shows Potala Palace in Lhasa, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Xinhua Photo)

　　Since 2008, the city government has built twelve parks with a total area of 60,000 sq. m. at a cost of 93.58 million yuan. From public green spaces, green belts along the roads, to landscaping of residential areas, parks and squares, a green network covering all Lhasa's counties and districts has taken shape.

　　In accordance with a special management mechanism, departments concerned are in charge of specific work. For example, the environment and sanitation department is responsible for clearing "white garbage" on the roads, and the gardening department makes sure that social institutions take care of trees and grass their employees have planted.

　　Different departments cooperate with one another and make joint efforts to tackle the white pollution. Local residents have enhanced their awareness of environmental protection, with littering becoming less and less common.

　　Now plastic bags that used to hang on tree branches along roads, on the green belts and river banks are not to be found any more.