Central China's Anhui province is best known for its picturesque mountains and waters, its economic growth however, was once overshadowed by nearby Shanghai and Jiangsu province. Not anymore, the province's governors said Wednesday it's finding new growth engines in its greenness and its heart-of-the-area locale. CGTN's Sun Ye has more.

Anhui is home to some of China's best known mountains and natural sceneries. Protecting its iconic natural resources will continue to be the province's priority, Anhui's top officials said in an answer to CGTN.

LI JINBIN PARTY SECRETARY, ANHUI PROVINCE "Our goal is to protect our 'great mountains and great lakes' well so that our solutions can be a model for others. Right now we're the first in the country to have 'forest chiefs'. More than 50,000 such forest chiefs are already in place to make sure more trees are planted, take root, and the forestry economy develops. We're doing the same things with the waters."

Anhui sits on part of the Yangtze river, within close range to China's most economically vibrant cities like Shanghai and Hangzhou.

As the mega integrated development for the Yangtze River Delta area rolled out earlier this year, Li says Anhui's relation with places in the area is not of competition, but more than ever, of co-operation.

LI JINBIN PARTY SECRETARY, ANHUI PROVINCE "We have an action plan to facilitate the integration of the delta area, from building a community of innovation with other tech hubs to facilitating transport, logistics, even personal needs. People will be able to travel across the whole region with only short commutes, for example from Anhui's Chuzhou to Jiangsu's capital Nanjing takes only 20 minutes."

He said co-ordinated development will benefit the high tech industry most, as Anhui hosts some of China's most advanced science and tech institutions and companies, including the teams of quantum science that delivered the world's first quantum communication satellite in 2016.

SUN YE BEIJING "The top governors say the province is now seeing its BIGGEST growth in decades. And by focusing on green development, high tech innovation and aligning with the Yangtze River Delta area, they also believe the momentum will continue. SY, CGTN, BJ."