The State Council has approved a national territorial spatial plan for Yunnan province for the 2021-2035 period, according to an official reply published on Jan 23.

According to the reply, by 2035, the total area of cultivated land in Yunnan should be no less than 78.57 million mu, and the red line area for ecological protection should not be less than 113,200 square kilometers.

The reply emphasized the need to strengthen the functional coordination of city groups in central Yunnan with those in the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, the Beibu Gulf, and central Guizhou province, and to promote linkage between Yunnan and other provinces along the Yangtze River, in an effort to accelerate the development of the western region and the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The area will also be in alignment with the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region will also be stepped up, to create a new highland for the opening-up of the southwest region and a center open to South Asia and Southeast Asia.

The cultivated land in the dam area should be strictly protected, with the expansion of the space for the development of agricultural plateau, said the reply.

According to the document, a solid ecological security barrier in the southwest region should be built and the protection of important ecological spaces such as the southeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau strengthened.

The reply demanded efforts to promote the development of green electricity such as large-scale hydropower stations and wind and photovoltaic bases, and to strengthen the protection of world heritage sites and red cultural heritage sites such as the Three Parallel Rivers, the old town of Lijiang and the Hani terraces of the Red River.