China’s planned environmentalism during the 11th Five-Year Plan (FYP) period was successful at reducing sulfur dioxide (SO2) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) due to the target responsibility system (TRS) on pollution reduction goals, which led to a redefined responsibility of environmental protection from local Environmental Protection Bureaus (EPBs) to local government leaders. However, the weakness of current mono-centric planning process is obvious in the context of governing complex socio-ecological changes. In this paper, two alternative approaches, decentralization of the nation’s planning regime and participatory governance with public involvement, were proposed to improve China’s environmental governance system.