From Slogan to Strategy: China’s “Together Compose the Song of Green Mountains and Clear Waters” Shapes a New Ecological Era

The slogan is a direct outgrowth of President Xi Jinping’s “Two Mountains” theory, first articulated in 2005, which declares that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” (绿水青山就是金山银山). The idea reframes environmental protection not as a cost of growth but as a source of wealth, linking ecological health to economic prosperity. Over the past 20 years the concept has moved from a high‑level mantra to a series of concrete projects, research initiatives and public campaigns that now converge under the banner of “一起共谱绿水青山曲”.

A loose chronology of the phrase’s evolution helps illustrate how it has been woven into the fabric of Chinese policy. In 2004 a scientific paper catalogued more than 8,300 studies on food and gut microbiota, hinting at an early recognition that public health and environmental quality are intertwined. By 2016, the government was promoting “green living” and the deployment of pumped‑storage hydropower to safeguard “permanent green mountains and clear waters”. A 2021 climate‑impact assessment of camphor‑tree species in subtropical evergreen forests underscored the growing concern over biodiversity loss. In August 2022, the book Green Mountains and Clear Waters and Rural Revitalization: Liyang’s Practice and Exploration of the Path to Shared Prosperity linked ecological protection to poverty‑reduction in a pilot county. And a June 2024 study on post‑COVID‑19 consumer food‑purchasing patterns suggested that heightened environmental awareness is reshaping Chinese households’ behaviour.

The phrase’s latest surge stems from a series of high‑profile Weibo posts that tie it directly to Xi’s own speeches. One post, captioned “#习言道#【一拨一山水，#一起共谱绿水青山曲#】”, quotes the president’s description of a 20‑year journey from the village of Yucun, along the banks of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, through grasslands and deserts, noting how the “Two Mountains” concept has taken root across the nation. Another announcement warned that the 2025 National Ecological Day in Beijing will mark the 20th anniversary of the “green mountains and clear waters are invaluable assets” slogan, underscoring the state’s intent to keep the narrative front‑and‑center. Even local development stories, such as Beijing’s Shunyi district promoting a driverless‑car test base under the same hashtag, illustrate how the ecological message is being fused with high‑tech, low‑carbon growth models.

The people and institutions behind the movement are as varied as the phrase’s applications. President Xi is the ideological architect, while the Communist Party and its myriad ministries have translated the vision into legislation, funding streams and monitoring systems. Provincial and municipal governments – from Liyang’s rural revitalization experiments to Shunyi’s autonomous‑vehicle showcase – are tasked with implementing pilot projects that demonstrate how “green” can be “gold”. Enterprises, especially those in renewable energy, eco‑agriculture and clean manufacturing, are now expected to embed the slogan into their supply‑chain strategies, while ordinary citizens are being called upon to live the credo: “If people do not let the green mountains fail them, the green mountains will certainly not let them down.”

The implications of “一起共谱绿水青山曲” ripple through three interlocking spheres – industry, society and politics – and are already visible in everyday life. In the industrial realm, stricter emissions standards and a push for circular‑economy practices have forced heavy polluters to invest in cleaner technologies or risk marginalisation. At the same time, a new wave of green startups is flourishing, buoyed by state subsidies for solar, wind and ecological tourism. For consumers, the pandemic‑era shift toward more sustainable food choices, as documented in the 2024 consumer‑behaviour paper, reflects a growing consciousness that personal health is linked to environmental health. Rural communities, especially in provinces like Anhui and Jiangsu, are seeing modest but tangible income streams from forest‑rehabilitation projects and eco‑tourism, dovetailing with the national poverty‑alleviation agenda.

On the societal front, cleaner air in major cities and the return of clearer rivers have translated into measurable public‑health gains, while the “green” narrative has spurred a surge in environmental education programmes tied to the National Ecological Day celebrations. Social media sentiment is overwhelmingly positive, with users posting images of blooming forests, blue skies and slogans that celebrate collective stewardship. The metaphor of a “song” – a harmonious composition requiring many voices – resonates with a public eager to see tangible results from the government’s lofty promises.

Politically, the phrase functions as both a policy compass and a legitimacy tool. By embedding ecological civilization into the Party’s ideological framework, the leadership signals a shift from a growth‑at‑any‑cost model to a more balanced, “win‑win” development path. New regulatory bodies, tighter monitoring of water‑pollution and forest‑fire incidents, and the integration of ecological metrics into local officials’ performance evaluations all point to a top‑down drive to institutionalise the “Two Mountains” ethos. Internationally, the narrative bolsters China’s claim to a leadership role in global climate governance, offering a counter‑balance to Western criticism of its past environmental record.

In short, “一起共谱绿水青山曲” is more than a poetic catch‑phrase; it is a rallying cry that links President Xi’s vision of “green mountains and clear waters” to a nationwide campaign of policy, technology and public participation. As the 20th anniversary of the “Two Mountains” concept approaches, the phrase will likely continue to surface in official discourse, social media feeds and the daily lives of millions of Chinese citizens – a reminder that the country’s future, at least in official rhetoric, will be written to the tune of a greener, more harmonious melody.