Xining City, Qinghai Province, northwest China - June 5, 2021 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Screen reading (Chinese/English) "Living in harmony with nature", camera crew
2. Performance in progress
3. Chinese Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu speaking onstage
4. SOUNDBITE (Chinese, dubbed in English) Huang Runqiu, Chinese Minister of Ecology and Environment (ending with shots 5-6):
"This needs concerted efforts to protect our ecological system. We do hope that all walks of life will take action together in the tough battle against pollution and contribute more to building a beautiful country."

FILE: China - Exact Date, Location Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
5. Wind farm
6. Various of solar panels

Xining City, Qinghai Province, northwest China - June 5, 2021 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
7. Ceremony in progress
8. Various of camera crew

FILE: Qinghai Province, northwest China - Exact Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
9. Various of mountains, lake, rivers in Sanjiangyuan and Qilianshan national parks

Xining City, Qinghai Province, northwest China - June 5, 2021 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
10. SOUNDBITE (Chinese, dubbed in English) Xin Changxing, governor, Qinghai Province (ending with shot 9):
"We will build Sanjiangyuan and Qilianshan national parks to a high standard. We will also speed up the building of such parks in Qinghaihu Lake and the Kunlun Mountains. These will become a cluster to help continue optimizing our system of natural reserves."

FILE: Qinghai Province, northwest China - Exact Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
11. Various of causeway, mountains, lake in Sanjiangyuan and Qilianshan national parks

Xining City, Qinghai Province, northwest China - June 5, 2021 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
12. Various of awarding ceremony in progress, prize winners
13. SOUNDBITE (Chinese, dubbed in English) Wang Ping, volunteer (ending with shot 12):
"I've been a volunteer for 17 years and I will take this as motivation to continue helping the youth understand and protect mother nature."

FILE: China - Exact Date, Location Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
14. Students holding geographic model

Xining City, Qinghai Province, northwest China - June 5, 2021 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
15. SOUNDBITE (Chinese, dubbed in English) Wei Xingzhi, volunteer, wildlife protection society (ending with shot 14):
"This is recognition for my eight-year volunteering service in protecting biodiversity. I will fulfill my duty and encourage more people to participate in the job."

FILE: China - Exact Date, Location Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
16. Various of wild animals

Xining City, Qinghai Province, northwest China - June 5, 2021 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
17. Various of celebrities on stage, receiving certificate for environmental protection observer
18. SOUNDBITE (Chinese, dubbed in English) Ju Ping, anchor; environmental protection observer (ending with shot 14):
"Now we are advocating waste sorting. Could we make the garbage bags at home into different colors? In that way, people old or young would find it a lot easier to sort their waste."

FILE: Beijing, China - Exact Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
19. Garbage cans for waste sorting

Xining City, Qinghai Province, northwest China - June 5, 2021 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
20. Various of performance in progress, camera crew
21. Flag being passed at ceremony to host 2022 edition

A national celebratory event recognizing outstanding environmentalists and encouraging action to protect the planet was held on Saturday in Xi'ning, capital of northwest China's Qinghai Province, to mark World Environment Day.

Environmentalists, volunteers, and participants from around the country gathered at the plateau city to highlight the efforts to prevent, halt, and reverse the degradation of the environment under the theme "Living in Harmony with Nature."

"This needs concerted efforts to protect our ecological system. We do hope that all walks of life will take action together in the tough battle against pollution and contribute more to building a beautiful country," said Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu, in a speech at the event.

As host of this year's event, Qinghai announced it will speed up the building of national parks on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, often called the "roof of the world."

The region is critical to all life in China due to its rich biodiversity and Sanjiangyuan, meaning the "source of three rivers," as the province is home to the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow, and Lancang rivers.

"We will build Sanjiangyuan and Qilianshan national parks to a high standard. We will also speed up the building of such parks in Qinghaihu Lake and the Kunlun Mountains. These will become a cluster to help continue optimizing our system of natural reserves," said Qinghai governor Xin Changxing.

Environmentalists, volunteers, and enterprises were awarded for their remarkable contributions to protecting the environment in China last year.

"I've been a volunteer for 17 years and I will take this as motivation to continue helping the youth understand and protect mother nature," said Qinghai native Wang Ping, who works in a green living team.

"This is recognition for my eight-year volunteering service in protecting biodiversity. I will fulfill my duty and encourage more people to participate in the job," said Wei Xingzhi, who works in a wildlife protection society in Lijiang, of southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Celebrities also attended as observers to raise public awareness and offer suggestions.

"Now we are advocating waste sorting. Could we make the garbage bags at home into different colors? In that way, people old or young would find it a lot easier to sort their waste," said Ju Ping, an environmental protection observer.

China began celebrating World Environment Day in 1985. Saturday was the first time its national event was held in the country's northwest. Next year, northeast China's Liaoning Province will host the annual ceremony.