Hetianyoufang, in Changting county, Fujian province, was devastated by excessive logging (top, in 1983). A reforesting program has revived the once-barren hills. [Photo/China Daily]

Volunteers in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province, take part in a campaign to clean the Minjiang River. Luo Wenxuan [Photo/China Daily]

Liaohe Wetland Park has become a popular tourist site in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province. After years of environmental efforts, the once heavily polluted Liaohe River is clean again. [Photo/China Daily]

Riverside greenbelts near Wulie River in Chengde. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

 

Ensuring air quality and river cleanliness is priority, He Na, Wu Wencong and Tang Yue report in Liaoning and Beijing.

Cao Yushan is a quiet man. The former hydrology station worker, now in his mid-60s, is usually happy to let other people do the talking and it's only when his favorite topic arises that he opens up. Mere mention of the Liaohe River in Liaoning province will prompt a barrage of stories as Cao becomes animated.

Having spent three decades working at the river's hydrology station, Cao watched the water deteriorate from clean in the 1980s to turbid and fetid in the 1990s. However, in recent years the waters have gradually become clearer again as a result of rigorous efforts to curb pollution.

In 1996, the river was listed as one of the most polluted in China. "In the early 1990s, the water was still drinkable. However, after countless manufacturers erected heavily polluting factories along the banks, the river died within just a few years. The fish died off, and even the birds did not dare to land," Cao recalled.

Today, the river presents a very different spectacle. On summer mornings, when the residents of the nearby villages are still sound asleep, the surface of the river is already dotted with waterfowl such as egrets and wild ducks.

"The cleaner environment has boosted tourism. Many sightseers visit the Liaohe River on the weekends and during the holidays. Given the state of the river when I worked for the hydrology station, I find it hard to accurately describe how happy I am to see this. I come and walk by the river almost every day," said Cao.

But success never comes easily. The improvements were achieved at great financial cost as successive administrations in Liaoning made environmental protection a cornerstone policy. As a means of curbing the pollution, the government has closed 70 percent of the province's papermaking factories and built 99 new sewage plants.