A survey jointly conducted by CEAP and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences this year shows that environmental protection is listed as China's fourth most important social issue, after healthcare, employment and the income gap between urban and rural areas.

"There has been a distinct increase in public awareness of environmental protection," Jia Feng, a Ministry of Environmental Protection official who heads the CEAP program said.

The green goals set by the country's 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010) to cut energy consumption by 20 percent and major pollutants by 10 percent toward a more sustainable mode of economic development has contributed to increased public environmental awareness, he said.

The Environmental Defense Fund has been leading a green campaign since 2005, trying to persuade Beijing citizens to adopt more environmental friendly ways of commuting in the city.

The campaign has chosen Shanghai, the host city of the 2010 World Expo, and Guangzhou, the host of the 16th Asian Games in 2012 as their next destinations after the Beijing Olympics, according to Zhang.

"Apart from all the official measures taken to clean up the environment, the real legacy of the Green Olympics for China is to make a greener lifestyle both belief and practice in the society at large," Zhang said.

(China Daily August 21, 2008)