The general office of the Shandong provincial government recently promoted the implementation of ecological protection and restoration projects for mountains, waters, forests, fields, lakes and flora in the region of Taishan (Mount Tai), proposing that the three cities of Jinan, Tai'an and Laiwu be divided into the Taishan Ecological Zone, the Dawen River-Dongping Lake Ecological Zone and the Xiaoqing River Ecological Zone.

The implementation suggests that each of the ecological zones, with an emphasis of its own, focus on five major projects, namely the geological environment, land consolidation, the water environment, biodiversity, and the construction of regulation capacity, to achieve the overall layout of "a mountain, two waters, two basins and a route", referring to Mount Tai, the rivers of Dawen and Xiaoqing, the basins of the Huaihe and the Yellow River, as well as traffic arteries.

Approved by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Land and Resources, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Taishan region of Shandong province was included in the second round of experimental ecological restoration projects for mountains, waters, forests, fields, lakes and flora.

The Taishan Ecological Belt is to create a community of life with "green mountains, clean water, lush forests, fertile lands, and beautiful lakes", setting an example for and contributing to the nation's construction of ecological civilization. It is mainly focused on the restoration of biological diversity and the prevention and control of geological hazards. It delineates ecological red lines for mountain protection and formulates mountain protection plans to protect the natural shape and ecological landscape of the mountains and to strengthen the capacity of the mountain's water and soil conservation. It enhances the seepage and infiltration of rainwater, eliminates hidden dangers of geological disasters and roots out illicit projects in the protection areas of potable water source.

The ecological area comprises of the Taishan district, the north of the Mianyue district, and the High-Tech Zone of Tai'an, as well as the south of the Licheng district of Jinan, covering an area of 1050 square kilometers.

The Dawen River - Dongping Lake Ecological Zone mainly focuses on the restoration and protection of the ecological environment of water and mines with an emphasis on land protection. It seeks to restore the ecological environment of damaged mines and fortify the prevention and control of geological disasters by implementing treatment projects for mine subsidence and abandoned mining areas. It is to reinforce the land consolidation and the protection of nature reserves, geological parks and relics, and is to accomplish the ecological restoration of the Dawen River water body, the construction of artificial wetlands and the protection project for the Dongping Lake water source. It improves the pollution control system of "treatment, utilization and maintenance", and sets up pilot construction sites for the comprehensive utilization, namely "recovery, transformation, and utilization", for agricultural wastes.

The zone has an area of 9,700 square kilometers, covering sites including the Laicheng, Gangcheng district and the High-Tech Zone of Laiwu, the south of the Daiyue district of Tai'an, the cities of Xintai and Feicheng, as well as the counties of Ningyang and Dongping.

The Xiaoqing River Ecological Zone is mainly focused on the ecological restoration and protection of damaged springs and the restoration of damaged mountains. Its goal is to realize the ecological restoration of damaged mountains and eliminate hidden dangers of geological disasters by intensifying land consolidation and the water and soil conservation capacity of the mountains. It also enhances the seepage and infiltration of rainwater and accelerates the cleanup of illegal constructions in drinking water source protection areas.

The zone, with an area of 2,750 square kilometers, covers the north of Licheng, Lixia, Shizhong, Changqing districts, the High-Tech Zone of Jinan, as well as the Pingyin county.