Chinanews, BEIJING, Jan. 2 - Beijing set an ambitious 245-day "blue sky" target for this year after beating the annual good-air-quality day target in 2006,according to the municipal environmental protection bureau.

 

Beijing will strive to have 245 days with level two on the air quality index or better in 2007, four days more than that of last year.

 

The city had fulfilled the annual target of 238 days for 2006 by Dec. 24, and saw 3 more days of blue sky before the New Year's Day.

 

The target last year was once widely believed to be a "mission impossible" as the city was hit by severe sandstorms last spring.

 

According to the bureau's Web site, the municipal government will put air quality improvement, the residents' biggest concern, on top of its agenda in 2007.