Report of a nationwide survey released on Wednesday revealed nearly 75 percent of urban Chinese were aware of the importance of a sound ecological environment.

The research was conducted by the Chinese Ecological Education Promotion Association and the Ecological Culture Research Center under the renowned Peking University from the end of last year.

"As for the ideal living environment in China, clean air is on the top of citizens' list. The second most important element is the grassy land and trees around their communities. The third is the sufficient supply of clean water," said E Yunlong, the association vice chairman.

The survey revealed most respondents gave positive comments on the government's efforts in environmental protection and the building of an environmentally-friendly society, especially on the protection of forests and wildlife and prevention of sandstorms.

However, in the five cities where the survey was carried out, the average score of people's satisfaction rate on the environment was only 58 points on a scale of zero to 100.

The survey was carried out in the cities of Guangzhou in the south, Akesu in the west, Chengdu in the southwest, Xinxiang in the north and Dalian in the northeast. It lasted more than three months.

Today was the national tree-planting day in China.

(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2008)