XIAMEN, July 6 (Xinhua) -- As morning sunlight danced on the shimmering Yundang Lake, Chen Kanglin jogged along the winding lakeside trail, while waterbirds gracefully skimmed past him.

For Chen, the serene beauty of this lake in Xiamen, a coastal city in east China's Fujian Province, stands in stark contrast to what it was four decades ago. "Back then, it was filthy," Chen recalled. "The water reeked of sewage, and flies were everywhere."

In the early 1980s, as China's reform and opening-up drive gathered pace, cities across the country, including Xiamen, plunged headlong into an industrialization race. Around Yundang Lake, factories sprang up swiftly and in large numbers, spewing untreated sewage directly into its waters.

But this trend began to change later in the 1980s, when the Xiamen municipal government rolled out a comprehensive development strategy spanning the period from 1985 to 2000. Unlike previous blueprints that focused primarily on economic growth, this plan also devoted a dedicated section to ecological issues, making a healthy ecosystem a core pillar of Xiamen's development vision. The restoration of Yundang Lake was high on this agenda.

To fulfill this aspiration, the city invested 10 million yuan (about 1.4 million U.S. dollars) in both 1988 and 1989, roughly 10 percent of its infrastructure spending at that time, specifically in restoring the lake.

"That was a bold move," said Cai Weizhong, head of Xiamen's urban utilities and landscaping bureau, noting that the city's economy was still in its infancy at the time -- and the budget was tight.

"However, pursuing industrial growth without sacrificing the environment is exactly what made the strategy commendable," Cai added.

Strategic planning has long been a hallmark of Chinese governance. From the city level to provinces and the central government, development blueprints are drawn up every five years, and sometimes with even longer timelines. Xiamen's plan, notably, stands out as the first 15-year development roadmap ever created for a Chinese city.

From China's very first Five-Year Plan to the current 14th, China sets strategic goals, defines government priorities, regulates business operations and mobilizes national resources -- all in pursuit of its overarching objective of building a modern socialist nation. Each plan completed brings the country one step closer to this goal.

Thanks to the 15-year blueprint and follow-up plans, Xiamen's economy has boomed, with skyscrapers and high-tech parks sprouting up across the city, and yet the restoration and protection of Yundang Lake has never ceased.

Municipal authorities have rolled out a series of new laws and regulations to restore the lake, while ecological thinking became deeply woven into the fabric of city governance.

Today, Xiamen's scenic beauty has earned it the nickname "Garden on the Sea," with Yundang Lake gleaming like a pearl at the heart of the city.

Beyond its environmental efforts, Xiamen's overall development certainly hasn't lagged behind. Over the past four decades, Xiamen's GDP has maintained an impressive average annual growth rate of 13.8 percent. Now, the city is moving full throttle toward its next ambition -- building a free-port-style special economic zone and a vibrant international metropolis by 2035.

Development strategies are essential to sustainable regional growth, said Zhang Xingxiang, an economics professor at Xiamen University. "When executed effectively, they offer a vital foundation for long-term prosperity and stability," he explained.

Xiamen's story echoes broader trends across China. In Fuzhou, capital of Fujian Province, the "3820" strategic project mapped out 3-, 8- and 20-year plans to transform Fuzhou into a modern international city.

In Zhejiang Province, also in east China, a long-term blueprint centered on harnessing the region's eight core strengths has been key to its rise. Today, Zhejiang is a technological powerhouse -- which is home to major innovators like Alibaba, DeepSeek and Unitree Robotics.

As China nears the end of its current Five-Year Plan, preparations for the 15th plan are already underway. In formulating plans and policies, policymakers emphasize the necessity of a profound understanding of global development trends, an accurate grasp of the common aspirations of the people, and a deep exploration of the laws of economic and social development.

Observers said the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan will take a forward-looking approach to global challenges, foster new quality productive forces, and strengthen the social safety net to improve people's well-being.

"In a complex and shifting global landscape, strategic planning enables China to stay focused and chart a steady path forward," said Zhang. ■