Beijing has made great efforts to expand its green spaces and improve the livable environment, the municipal greening authorities said Wednesday.

Beijing will continue to expand green spaces, with a total of 31 parks and 13 urban forests being added in 2019, which will bring the coverage of parks within a radius of 500 meters to 83 percent citywide, according to the Beijing Gardening and Greening Bureau.

The capital added 28 city leisure parks, 20 urban forests and 121 small and mini-parks across the city, increasing the coverage of parks within a radius of 500 meters from 77 percent to 80 percent in 2018.

"Building more green leisure parks and forest for residents aims to shorten the distance between people and nature, bringing citizens wider access to high-quality afforestation," said Deng Naiping, head of the bureau.

To further expand green spaces for Beijing residents, the capital will build 50 small and mini-parks, launch green pathways totalling 200 kilometers for walking and exercising and increase green roofs this year.

A total of 16,667 hectares of forest and 600 hectares of urban green space will be added in Beijing in 2019.

Last year, nearly 18,000 hectares of forest and 710 hectares of urban green space were added.

The bureau said that by the end of 2018, the forest coverage rate of the capital reached 43.5 percent, and the green space rate in the urban areas reached 48.4 percent, with the per capita public green space in the city reaching 16.3 square meters.

More than 2,700 hectares of land were vacated for greening, and 13 city parks and five parks on the outskirts of the city were built in 2018.