Qinghai province will continue with its green development, safeguarding the ecology while making good use of clean energy, deputies to the National People's Congress from the province's delegation said during an open panel discussion in Beijing on Wednesday.

Safeguarding the ecological environment and protecting Qinghai as China's water tower — as Qinghai boasts the sources of Asia's three longest rivers — is of vital importance, said Chen Gang, an NPC deputy, who is also Party secretary of Qinghai.

Significant progress has been made in Qinghai's ecological protection. For example, the number of Tibetan antelope has been restored to about 70,000, and that of snow leopard has increased to more than 1,200.

"The increases in the number of wild animals reflect that our environment is getting better," said Chen.

"We are not satisfied only with clean water, air and good soil, … but hope to set a good example in the building of national parks, protection of biodiversity and exploration of gaining economic benefits from green development," he added.

Qinghai now has Three-River-Source, Qilian Mountain and Qinghai Lake national parks, and will protect them thoroughly and promote the harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, Chen said.

Wu Xiaojun, an NPC deputy, who is also Qinghai's governor, said the development of clean energy, like water, wind and solar powers "has prospered" in Qinghai. "We will explore a new development path which relies on clean energy," said Wu.