Tianjin, the largest port city in north China, is to become greener with plans to grow more trees and grass areas.

Dai Xianglong, the newly elected mayor of Tianjin, said tree cover in Tianjin would reach 40 percent, and grass coverage would be 35 percent by the year of 2010.

The afforestation campaign was designed to improve the local environment and enhance the quality of life for residents, said Dai.

By 2002, forest cover in Tianjin was 27.3 percent, and the grass coverage was 19.1 percent, while in neighboring Beijing tree cover and the grass coverage are much higher.

Dai was elected mayor of Tianjin at the first session of the 14th Tianjin Municipal People's Congress at the end of January. Previously he was governor of the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank.

(Xinhua News Agency March 3, 2003)