Chinese stocks continued to rise for the second straight day Wednesday, led by the environmental protection sector.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went up 0.62 percent to close at 3,369.11. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.91 percent higher at 11,280.30.

Combined turnover on the two bourses stood at around 531.7 billion yuan (81.7 billion U.S. dollars), up from 445.5 billion yuan the previous day.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board, gained 1.45 percent to close at 1,795.38.

More than 2,000 shares gained on the two bourses with the sector for environmental protection rising 2.1 percent.

Tianjin Capital Environmental Protection Group rose by the daily limit of 10 percent to 14.49 yuan. Sinoma Energy Conservation surged 7.51 percent to close at 10.59 yuan.

China has been promoting green resources such as wind and solar in recent years to cope with pollution and boost the quality of its growth.

Pollution control will be kept as a priority, as the government has made it one of the "three tough battles" for the next three years, together with major risk prevention and poverty reduction.

National Energy Administration data Tuesday showed that solar power generation totaled 106.9 billion kilowatt hours in the first 11 months of 2017, up 72 percent from a year earlier.