The State Council approved a national territorial spatial plan to be implemented in Ningxia Hui autonomous region, according to an official reply released on Aug 28.

According to the circular, by 2035, the total area of cultivated land in Ningxia will reach no less than 17.53 million mu, of which the protection area for permanent basic farmland will be no less than 14.24 million mu.

Meanwhile, the circular stressed that the red line for ecological protection shall not be less than 120,000 square kilometers, and the area of construction land per unit of GDP shall be reduced by no less than 40 percent.

Spaces for the security of strategic mineral resources and historical and cultural protection should be guaranteed, the circular said.

In addition to implementation of strategies in coordinated regional development, functional zones, new urbanization, rural revitalization and other major regional strategies, the circular also stressed the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the New Western Land-Sea Corridor, and the coordination between ecological protection and high-quality development along the Yellow River Basin.

Green food production bases of national importance should be built, said the circular, adding that measures should be taken to advance ecological protection, restoration and systematic management of the waters, coastlines, beaches and wetlands of the Yellow River.

The circular also emphasized strengthening the roles of Yinchuan city as a regional center, promoting the integrated development of Ningxia’s city clusters along the Yellow River and intensifying protection of its key heritage sites.