The coastal city of Xiamen in Fujian province boasts beautiful natural scenery and a clean urban environment. [Photo/VCG]

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment recently announced the national air quality situation from January to August 2019 -- and the coastal city of Xiamen in Fujian province ranked sixth among 168 major cities in China in terms of air quality.

From the beginning of the year, Xiamen has carried out a series of measures to reduce pollution and improve the environment, ensuring a very high level of ambient air quality.

In particular, Xiamen's government was active in the prevention and control of motor vehicle exhaust pollution, treatment of volatile organic compounds and the control of dust -- as important initiatives to effectively curb ozone and particulates pollution and reduce nitrogen oxide emissions.

Statistics showed that the concentration of nitrogen dioxide in the air dropped by 16.1 percent in the eight months against the same period last year -- when that reading saw a 6.1 percent drop on the previous year.