Birds fly across Datong's blue skies. [Photo/Datong Daily]

Datong, a city where azure skies blend with lush landscapes, has become a symbol of ecological progress and a testament to the well-being of its residents.

In 2025, Datong recorded its best-ever air quality, with PM2.5 levels ranking 21st among 168 key cities. For the first time, all eight national surface water monitoring sections met quality standards, achieving 100 percent coverage.

Datong's comprehensive air quality index fell to 3.26 in 2025, a 12.1 percent year-on-year decrease. The city recorded 334 days of excellent air quality, up 20 days from the previous year, raising the excellent air quality ratio to 91.5 percent, a 5.7 percentage point improvement.

Liu Yajing, director of the Datong ecological environment bureau, attributes this success to a systematic approach that includes air pollution control measures such as summer ozone pollution prevention, ultra-low-emission upgrades in the cement industry, comprehensive management of coal-fired boilers, and the rectification of traditional industrial clusters.

Three cement companies completed ultra-low-emission upgrades, while 16 enterprises in Lingqiu county's manganese-rich slag industrial cluster were rectified. Seventeen 2-metric-ton biomass steam boilers were also eliminated.

The Sanggan River has become a haven for ducks. [Photo/Datong Daily]

Datong has accelerated its transition to clean heating by replacing coal with electricity and implementing refined, grid-based management of construction and road dust and of straw-burning emissions. The city has also adopted an "Internet + Supervision" model to enable precise pollution-source prediction and rapid tracing.

The city has conducted extensive investigations and rectifications of sewage outfalls into rivers and black-odorous water bodies, achieving a 100 percent tracing and rectification rate for key river sewage outfalls.

The Sanggan River wetlands now host over 100 bird species, establishing themselves as a crucial stopover and habitat along migratory routes.

Datong has also implemented a forest chief system and coordinated the governance of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, and deserts, resulting in a continuous expansion of the city's green area.

The Sanggan River boasts crystal-clear waters. [Photo/Datong Daily]