Aerial view of the ecological belt in Guangzhou's Haizhu Wetland Park. [Photo by Liang Yitao/Yangcheng Evening News]

Guangzhou has been rewarded with the 2021 World Landscape Architecture (WLA) Awards, officials from the Guangzhou Water Authority announced on June 17, indicating that the city's efforts to build ecological belts are gaining international recognition. 

The Guangzhou Ecological Belt Master Plan and Implementation project, submitted by the Guangzhou Water Authority and the Guangzhou Urban Planning and Design Survey Research Institute, stood out from more than 400 competitors from all over the world and won the "Built – Urban" award.

The WLA Awards is held annually to reward outstanding works in landscape, planning and architectural design from all over the world. 

Guangzhou has built a batch of excellent ecological belts such as the one in Haizhu Wetland Park, the one in Zengjiang and the one along the Jiaomen River, offering ideal places for locals to enjoy their leisure time.