China News Service, Antalya, November 10 (Reporter Chen Su) On November 9, 2026 local time, the China Corner "Eco-Cultural Tourism: Searching for the Beautiful China" side event of the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31) was held in Antalya, Turkey.
Li Gao, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and head of the Chinese delegation, said in his speech that with the current intensification of global climate change and the heightened vulnerability of ecosystems, green, low-carbon and sustainable development have become the common pursuit of all mankind. As a code of conduct and value concept, ecological culture can provide lasting endogenous power for ecological environment protection and climate action. The Chinese government attaches great importance to the construction of ecological culture. In May 2025, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, together with relevant departments, issued the "Guiding Opinions on Further Strengthening the Construction of Ecological Culture" to make systematic arrangements for the prosperity and development of ecological culture. Eco-cultural tourism is a practical carrier for ecological culture to reach the public. It can guide the public to perceive the beauty of ecology and practice green responsibilities during travel, and gather the practical power of the public and grassroots for global climate governance.
Li Gao pointed out that China has always adhered to the concept of harmonious coexistence between man and nature, adhered to the principle of protecting green, nourishing green and benefiting the people, relying on ecological and cultural tourism to drive rural revitalization, promote local employment, and promote the value transformation of "lucid waters and lush mountains are valuable assets". During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, China will pay more attention to the fundamental role of ecological culture in the construction of ecological civilization, consolidate the research and inheritance of ecological culture, enrich the supply of ecological cultural tourism products and services, promote the green upgrade of ecological cultural tourism, deepen international exchanges of ecological cultural tourism, and use pragmatic actions to support global climate governance and sustainable development.
The keynote speech session introduced China’s exploration of the construction of quality ecological and cultural tourism routes in “Searching for Beauty in China”. During the 2026 World Environment Day, the "Looking for Beauty in China" pilot collection for the construction of ecological and cultural tourism quality routes was launched, which received positive response from all walks of life. The pilot plan will take about five years to promote construction around the three dimensions of "visible, audible, and participatory" to create a number of high-quality routes with profound ecological and cultural connotations and complete green service facilities. Through ecological cultural promotion along the routes, carbon inclusive platforms and low-carbon travel incentives, the public will be guided to experience the effectiveness of ecological governance and practice green and low-carbon behaviors during travel. During the June 5th World Environment Day in 2027, the first batch of "Searching for Beauty in China" ecological and cultural tourism boutique routes will be officially launched.
In the case sharing session, representatives of ecological environment departments from Beijing, Shanxi, Shanghai, Guangdong, and Gansu exchanged and shared based on local ecological cultural tourism work practices. The side event also set up a round-table dialogue session, where Chinese and foreign guests discussed topics such as green and low-carbon development, ecological protection, and benefiting the people.
The side event was guided by the Publicity and Education Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the Climate Change Response Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and hosted by the Publicity and Education Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
