The Kunming Municipal Socioeconomic Investigation Team has released the results of a recent survey of Kunming residents' greatest concerns about living in Spring City, according to a report on government website New Kunming. The results: Kunmingers are most concerned with garbage management, air pollution and water resource management. Additionally, city residents named the cleanup of superpolluted Dianchi Lake, protection of green spaces and sanitation as major concerns.

The survey stated that although Kunming residents expressed approval of government environmental initiatives enacted in the last few years, they are still far from being "highly satisfied" with Kunming's environmental situation. Survey respondents appear to be especially concerned about airborne dust in the city as well as the traffic-related issues of auto emissions and noise pollution.

The survey was conducted in Kunming's four urban districts (Wuhua, Xishan, Guandu and Panlong) plus the outlying areas of Anning, Chenggong, Jinning and Songming. A total of 1,300 surveys were distributed, with the results showing a clear rise in environmental consciousness among residents in and around Kunming. In general, respondents said that the government had made some headway in protecting the area's environment, while noting that air and noise pollution were on the rise.

Although Kunming has some of the better air found in major Chinese cities, the city's rapid development, growing number of cars and increasing industrialization are providing a major challenge for a Kunming government that appears to be becoming more environmentally conscious. Relatively simple issues such as noise pollution can be addressed by banning the use of car horns, as Shanghai did two weeks ago. Other issues such as cleaning up Dianchi Lake are much more difficult to address, especially when recent work on cleaning up the lake - one of China's largest - has sometimes increased pollution to the lake.