New Era China Research Tour · Yangtze River Chapter | "Four Color Spectra" Looking at the Yangtze River - Visiting the Supervision of the Five Major River Basin Management Institutions | River Basin | Yangtze River

The vast Yangtze River flows eastward, and the protection and management of the Yangtze River are closely related to the well-being of over 400 million people in the basin. Recently, reporters visited river basin management institutions such as the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources, the Yangtze River Navigation Administration of the Ministry of Transport, the Yangtze River Basin Ecological Environment Supervision and Administration Bureau of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Yangtze River Shipping Public Security Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, and the Yangtze River Basin Fisheries Supervision and Administration Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to gain insight into the changes in the governance of the Yangtze River in the new era.

Draw a "blue" image to the end

The finless porpoise is playing and chasing the waves in the downstream waters of Gezhouba. Shen Jizhong

In recent years, provinces and cities along the Yangtze River have placed the restoration of the ecological environment of the Yangtze River in an overwhelming position, promoting the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. From the Bashan Shu River to the Jiangnan water towns, from cracking the "heavy encirclement of the Yangtze River" to the "ten-year fishing ban" on the Yangtze River, from the formulation of the "Comprehensive Plan for the Yangtze River Basin" to the implementation of the "Yangtze River Protection Law of the People's Republic of China".

"Jointly focusing on large-scale protection and not engaging in large-scale development can be said to be deafening." Hu Jiajun, Deputy Director of the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission, introduced that in recent years, the Yangtze River Commission has timely organized the preparation of special plans for the development of water conservancy in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, as well as the overall plan for the protection and development of the Yangtze River shoreline. The basin planning system has been further improved, and the leading role of planning constraints has been increasingly strengthened.

At the same time, the Yangtze River Commission also focuses on the concept of "sharing" and takes the lead in establishing the Yangtze River Governance and Protection Science and Technology Innovation Alliance, and has initially established a cross departmental and cross regional cooperation mechanism. Taking river sand mining as an example, we have created a management model that relies on the law, the government takes overall responsibility, water conservancy takes the lead, and departments cooperate. Together with the Yangtze River Shipping Public Security Bureau and other departments, we have achieved the fundamental transformation of river sand mining from chaos to governance.

Guarding the Blue Water and Walking towards Green

Yaojiagang Chemical Park Wharf, Zhijiang City, Yichang City, Hubei Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xiao Yijiu

The Yaojiagang Chemical Park in Zhijiang City, Hubei Province, on the banks of the Jingjiang River, is lined with factories and lush trees. In the southeast corner of the park, the sewage treatment plant in the west of Zhijiang City is operating busily. Industrial wastewater can only be discharged after more than ten processes such as sedimentation and biological treatment. In the circulating water tank connected to the drainage outlet, a group of red koi are swimming happily.

On the banks of the Yangtze River, reporters have been walking and watching as the lake, which used to be a "rod to rod" system, reappears with clear water and waves, transforming from a "fisherman" to a "fish protector"; The scattered industrial docks have transformed into riverside parks, and some endangered birds have become frequent visitors to wetlands along the river

With the continuous promotion of large-scale protection, the ecological environment quality of the Yangtze River continues to improve. Xu Chong, Director of the Ecological Environment Supervision and Administration Bureau of the Yangtze River Basin, introduced that the proportion of high-quality water sections in the Yangtze River Basin has increased from 81.8% in 2015 to 98.1% in 2022. The water quality of the main stream of the Yangtze River has been maintained at Class II for three consecutive years since 2020.

How the ecological environment is being restored depends on where birds fly and where fish swim. Ma Yi, Director of the Yangtze River Basin Fisheries Supervision and Management Office, introduced that the population of the rare species Yangtze River finless porpoise reached 1249 in 2022, an increase of 20% compared to 1012 in 2017, achieving a historic rebound; In 2022, 193 species of fish were monitored in key water areas of the Yangtze River Basin, an increase of 25 species from 168 in 2020.

Continuous release of yellow "gold" waterway effect

The throughput of the trunk line reached 3.59 billion tons, ranking first in the world for 18 consecutive years; The number of billion ton ports continues to increase, currently reaching 15; In the past decade, the development of Yangtze River shipping has entered a fast lane, with 24 first-class water transportation open ports and more than 100 countries or regions for navigation and trade. The "gold content" of the golden waterway has been continuously increasing.

"Among the main modes of transportation, waterway transportation is the most economical and energy-efficient." Li Jiang, Deputy Director of the Yangtze River Navigation Administration, introduced that the current high-grade waterway mileage of the Yangtze River trunk and branch lines has reached tens of thousands of kilometers, achieving direct transportation from 50000 ton sea vessels to Nanjing, 10000 ton vessels to Wuhan, 3000 ton vessels to Chongqing, and 2000 ton vessels to Yibin, forming a water expressway that connects Sichuan, Chongqing, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui, and Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai.

At Wuhu Port in Anhui Province, the yard bridge and shore bridge are arranged in a straight line, with boats of all sizes competing for a thousand boats. Riding on national strategic advantages such as the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the integration of the Yangtze River Delta, Wuhu Port has become the core port of the Anhui section of the Yangtze River. In 2022, 1.25 million containers entered and exited from Wuhu Port, with over 700 voyages from here to Shanghai Port.

Water transportation facilitates industrial development. Statistics show that in 2022, the total economic output of provinces and cities along the Yangtze River Economic Belt accounted for 46.5% of the national total, an increase of 1.4 percentage points from 2015, forming five world-class industrial clusters: electronic information, high-end equipment, automobiles, home appliances, and textile and clothing.

Make good use of "black" technology to control water and transform it into "smart" water

Monitoring personnel are conducting on-site parameter measurements of the aquatic ecological environment. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xiao Yijiu

Entering the Monitoring and Research Center of the Ecological Environment Supervision and Administration Bureau in the Yangtze River Basin, one by one high-tech equipment catches the eye. After the water sample enters the equipment, the microscope on the side automatically switches fields of view, takes photos, and updates algae data in real-time.

Planktonic algae are important indicators for measuring aquatic ecology. In the past, artificial microscopy was the main method for detecting planktonic algae. Applying artificial intelligence technology to detection, the Yangtze River Monitoring and Research Center, in collaboration with relevant institutions, has developed the Algapro intelligent recognition system for planktonic algae.

"It takes about 1 hour to manually inspect samples from 100 fields of view, while Algapro only takes 20 to 30 minutes to complete." Li Bin, a researcher at the Monitoring and Research Center of the Yangtze River Bureau, introduced that this technology has been updated to the fifth generation, providing strong support for monitoring eutrophication in lakes and reservoirs.

The reporter found in the interview that the use of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data is continuously upgrading the water management of the Yangtze River Basin towards "smart" water.

"In recent years, the level of technological informatization in Yangtze River shipping has significantly improved, and the smart Yangtze River is gradually approaching," said Li Jiang. For example, the Yangtze River Electronic Navigation Map achieves full coverage of the main line and extends to its tributaries, covering a navigation distance of nearly 5000 kilometers.

By utilizing various advanced technologies, the Yangtze River navigation management department is still constructing a three-dimensional digital reality map of the Yangtze River, gathering information on shipping elements such as waterways, ports, ships, and personnel, striving to achieve the goal of "viewing the Yangtze River with one map and managing shipping with one map".