BEIJING - President Xi Jinping stressed that China should protect its environment in the same way as one "values his own eyes".

During an inspection tour to Southwest China's Yunnan province from Monday to Wednesday, Xi told provincial officials that environmental protection should be high on the country's agenda.

"We should [...] treat the environment in the same way as one treats his own life," the president said, adding that the country should look at the whole picture, at it is the long-term interests and the interests of all the people.

Xi offered four pieces of environmental advice.

"We cannot afford to be penny wise and pound foolish, nor catch one and lose another," he said. "We should also not live beyond our means or be more interested in the here and now, while ignoring our long-term interests."

When visiting a village near Erhai Lake in northwestern Yunnan, Xi instructed villagers that the environment should not suffer for the sake of economic growth.

He called on residents and the local government to protect this piece of natural beauty, but underscored that it is a "long-term task [and] work is far from over".

According to national broadcaster CCTV, the president told villagers and officials that he had taken a photograph at the lakeside together with senior provincial officials.

"I told them that I hope, if a photo is taken years later, the water should be even clearer than today. If not, I will hold them [the officials] accountable," he said.