(PENG ZHANGQING)

Tourists take pictures at Gulangyu Island in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province.

On March 19, Fujian began releasing the country's first ever "fresh air index" to promote eco-tourism.

Unlike indicators released by environmental departments that focus on urban air quality, the new index reflects air quality changes at tourist attractions, said Chen Yihui, deputy chief of Fujian's tourism bureau.

Tourists can track updates on the bureau's website and its accounts on social networking sites, according to Chen.