The State Council has approved a national territorial spatial plan for Henan for the 2021-2035 period, according to an official reply released on March 6.

According to the reply, by 2035, the total area of cultivated land in Henan should be no less than 109.5552 million mu, of which the protection area for permanent basic farmland will be no less than 98.3789 million mu, and the red line area for ecological protection should not be less than 14,000 square kilometers.

Henan is asked to thoroughly implement strategies in coordinated regional development, functional zones, new urbanization, rural vitalization and other major regional strategies, said the reply.

Meanwhile, it should actively participate in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, advance coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and strengthen coordinated development of city clusters in the Central Plain with those in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

Grain production bases in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain and Nanyang Basin should be consolidated, the reply said, and efforts will be made to elevate the Yellow River Ecological Belt to a high standard with restoration of important mountains, rivers, forests, lakes and wetlands.

Measures will be taken to promote integration of Zhengzhou and Kaifeng, and accelerate the construction of provincial sub-central cities in Luoyang and Nanyang, with balanced spatial layout of traditional and new infrastructure, and improved disaster prevention, mitigation and relief facilities across regions.

The reply also stressed protection of world heritage sites such as the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang and the Yin Ruins in Anyang, and red cultural heritage sites.