After a two-month assessment, the first batch of seven hotels in Guangxi has been awarded the "Gold Leaf Green Hotel" title to recognize their overall sustainability practices.

The seven hotels are: Guangxi Wharton Hotel, Nanning Hotel, Phoenix Hotel Nanning, Jinhua Hotel Guangxi, Lijiang Waterfall Hotel Guilin, Guilin Royal Garden Hotel, and Guilin Park Hotel.

A representative from the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Tourism Bureau says that according to the Green Hotel Standard created by the China National Tourism Administration, there are two levels of Green Hotels: Silver Leaf and Gold Leaf. The standard for Gold Leaf Green Hotel requires, among other things, that the gauges for water, gas and electricity in the hotel be fixed at different areas of the hotel; the hotels can't use wild and protected animals to make food; and there is no serious pollution from the hotel in the year.

Eight main factors including the candidate hotels' overall design, available green products, service, trash management, environmental protection, energy resource management, material costs, and water saving were considered during the assessment.

Besides the seven Gold Leaf Green Hotels, the Sheraton Guilin Hotel, Ronghu Lake Hotel, Guilin Plaza and Airline Grand Hotel Guilin were given "Silver Leaf Green Hotel" awards.