Nearly one million people attended the opening ceremony of "Restore the Net of Life Along the Yangtze River", an event marking World Environment Day. The event was celebrated simultaneously in 12 provinces and cities along the longest river in China on Sunday.

The aim of the event was to highlight the Yangtze River's place in society as the grand organic network of life.

Exhibitions were held on Sunday in the 12 provinces and cities involved in the program. The exhibitions introduce the Chinese government's efforts to harness the power of the river; the main message being that the fate of mankind is closely associated with the life of the river and that restoring the life of the river is to save the future of mankind.

The program -- launched in Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan, Qinghai, Guizhou and Gansu provinces, and the cities of Shanghai and Chongqing -- was jointly sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), Wetlands International and the State Forestry Administration of China.

Sunday's event also marked the beginning of a 2005 program designed to protect wetlands in the Yangtze River valley, initiated by WWF China.

In related news, six motorcyclists left Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Sunday on a cross-China journey to promote environmental protection.

Over the next 75 days, the six members of the Xinjiang Motorcyclists Team are expected to travel some 23,000 kilometers through 28 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions on the Chinese mainland, as well as China's Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

Chu Xu, head of the team, said that they would study local environment conditions and preach environmental protection on their trip, and expressed the hope that more people would join them in promoting environmental protection to help build a beautiful home for mankind.

As part of government efforts to enhance people's awareness of environmental protection, more than 400 schools, communities and families across China were rewarded on Saturday for their efforts to build an energy-saving and environment-friendly society.

They were granted the honorary title of "national green schools, communities and households."

Xie Zhenhua, director of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), said at the awarding ceremony that the general public has become a major force in building China into a green society. Their participation helps cultivate social habits that value environment protection, he said.

This year's World Environment Day is themed of "Green Cities: Plan for the Planet". The theme for China, designed by SEPA, is "Everyone Joins in the Building of a Green Home."