Diverse, colorful activities have been held in many cities across China to mark the 33rd World Environmental Day, which falls on June 5.

In China's capital of Beijing, young people attended a ceremony on environmental protection sponsored jointly by the Song Ching-Ling Foundation and the State Environmental Protection Administration.

The ceremony, with the theme of "I love China, I love Sea.", is aimed at increasing young people's awareness of protecting marine environment.

Yu Guilin, vice-chairman of the Song Ching-Ling Foundation, said the education in marine protection should be conducted among children and young people. And they should be aroused to contribute their share to marine protection and exert an influence on other social strata with their concrete deeds.

In another development, approximately 1,000 environmental protection volunteers in Dalian, a port city in northeast China's Liaoning province, held a rally at the Zhongshan Square to observethe World Environmental Day. Students from a dozen of colleges and universities gave performances and delivered speeches on environmental protection at the square, which were bedecked with picture boards and posters.

Under the slogan of "Public involvement in environmental protection", leading officials of numerous city departments in Dalian attended today's activities in the capacity of volunteers instead of government officials.

Meanwhile, residents of Nanjing, the provincial capital and an ancient city in east China's Jiangsu province, converged on Beijing Square Saturday to publicize the concept of "leading a green life, and building an eco-environmental homeland."

Though Nanjing is not seaside city, it is traversed by the mighty Yangtze, China's longest river. He Jing, a representative of the Xuanwu District, read out at the rally a proposal on half of his fellow residents in the district, calling on all city residents to treasure every drop of water and strive to alleviate water pollution.

Source: Xinhua