An aerial view of Putuo islands in Zhoushan. [Photo/the official news website of Zhoushan]

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China announced the fourth batch of national-level beautiful bays on Dec 26, 2025, with Putuo Islands in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province, making the list.

In recent years, Putuo district has leveraged its island features to promote ecological conservation and environmental improvement. The district has implemented various initiatives, including pollution control, waste management, and ecological improvement.

Since 2020, it has increased wastewater treatment capacity by 27,000 metric tons per day and renovated over 300 kilometers of sewage networks. These efforts resulted in a 25.4 percent improvement in seawater quality compared to the average recorded from 2018 to 2020.

Putuo has also pioneered an ecological improvement project, with notable achievements such as the discovery of a new species, Putuo striped bolete (Boletellus putuoensis), and the breeding of over 40,000 national-level protected plants.

To foster more green development, Putuo has initiated projects to establish an integrated renewable energy industry within its jurisdiction. By the end of 2025, it had installed 363,000 kilowatts of wind and solar power capacity and promoted the the use of hydrogen and methanol as clean energy sources. Putuo was also recognized as one of the first low-carbon pilot areas in the province in 2021.