New Era China Research Tour - Yangtze River Chapter | Yangtze River "Zero Kilometers" Raise "Green Ribbon" Factory Area | Yibin | Times

In July, at the mouth of the three rivers in Yibin, the river breeze is gentle and the blue waves are rippling. After the confluence of the Jinsha River and the Minjiang River, which carry the vastness of the river source and the meaningfulness of the Tianfu, it is called the "Yangtze River", and the Sanjiangkou is also known as the "zero kilometer" of the main stream of the Yangtze River. The surging Yangtze River rushes forward, leaving the Three Gorges, crossing the Pingchuan River, and entering the East China Sea.

The picture shows the scenery of Sanjiangkou in Yibin City, Sichuan Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Bingjie

Yibin is built along the water and is known as the "first city on the Yangtze River for thousands of miles", but it has also faced the problem of "chemical engineering surrounding the river and pollution surrounding the city". There are many industrial enterprises, sand and gravel factories, animal husbandry, and fishing boats along the three rivers and six banks. Illegal docks and catering barges are densely distributed, and swimming enthusiasts cannot even find a clean river area to enter the water.

Treating chronic illness requires strong medicine. In recent years, Yibin has made great efforts in pollution control, emission reduction, and ecological restoration. 57 old industrial enterprises along the river have been relocated, and 137 high polluting enterprises have been shut down; Demolish 33 illegal docks and ban 92 sand and gravel yards along the river; About 82 kilometers of ecological corridors have been built, and about 300 hectares of new green spaces along the river have been added

At Yibin Port, a few kilometers away from Sanjiangkou, the "Sanjiang Environmental Protection 01" pollutant comprehensive receiving ship is operating. Captain Li Gang said, "We receive free waste oil, sewage, garbage, etc. from passing ships to ensure that pollutants do not enter the Yangtze River."

The picture shows a cargo ship docked at Yibin Port in Yibin City, Sichuan Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Bingjie

According to Jia Lihua, Director of the Ecological Environment Bureau of Yibin City, more than 2000 river chiefs at all levels in Yibin patrol and manage the river, clean up and rectify the problems of illegal occupation, pile up, construction, mining, and discharge in the river, and continuously improve the ecological environment of the three rivers and six banks. In 2022, the Class II water quality of the main stream of the Yangtze River reached 362 days, an increase of 10 days from 2021.

Now at Sanjiangkou, there is a delightful scene of returning to the shore with green water and birds flying and fish leaping. In winter, a large number of red billed gulls come not far from here to inhabit, attracting many citizens to visit the waterfront trail for bird watching and feeding. This year, in the videos of red billed gulls taken by netizens, a school of fish can also be clearly seen swimming in the river, brushing the screen of Yibin people's social circles.

"The fish in the Yangtze River are back!" said Xiao Yunan, a member of the Yangtze River patrol team. In 1985, when he was 12 years old, he started fishing in the Yangtze River with his father and brother. For decades, he watched the fish get smaller and fewer. After retiring from fishing and landing in 2017, Xiao Yunan became a fish ranger. Previously, he tried his best to catch fish, but now he is trying his best to protect the fish.

Standing at the stone tablet of the "starting point of the Yangtze River" at the mouth of Sanjiangkou, one can overlook the lush trees and towering white pagodas on Cuiping Mountain. At the foot of the mountain, the Yangtze River coastline is lush with greenery and a beautiful environment. The slogan of "jointly promoting major protection and not engaging in major development" is very eye-catching. Establishing ecological priority rules, Yibin is developing while protecting and protecting during development, which forces industrial transformation and upgrading, and vigorously promotes high-quality development.

The old industrial area in Xiajiangbei, 5 kilometers away, was once a pillar of Yibin's industry, with traditional enterprises such as chemical, thermal, cement, and papermaking gathering together. With the last chimney falling in 2018, this place has transformed into a waterfront park. The Yibin Tianyuan Chemical Plant, which was founded in the 1940s, was relocated to the newly established Sanjiang New Area and also regained its vitality.

This is a collage photo. The picture above shows that on the north bank of the Yangtze River, 5 kilometers away from the main stream of the Yangtze River, a large factory building in the old factory area of Yibin Tianyuan Chemical Plant is being demolished; The following picture shows the new appearance of the old factory site of Yibin Tianyuan Chemical Plant, which was taken at the same location.

Entering the production workshop of Yibin Lithium Bao New Materials Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Tianyuan Group, workers are intensifying the production of lithium battery cathode materials. According to Yuan Haitao, the deputy general manager of the company, by the end of the year, the production capacity of positive electrode materials will be expanded to 70000 tons, meeting the demand for 650000 new energy vehicles.

"The company fully leverages its research and development and operational advantages, and follows the path of developing a green, low-carbon, and circular economy. It not only continues to lead the industry in chemical industries such as chlor alkali, but also completes its layout in the fields of new materials and new energy, achieving growth against the trend." said Zhang Zongcai, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Tianyuan Group.

Green and low-carbon is not just a choice for a company. Yibin City is striving to find opportunities for urban transformation and rapid development in the wave of green and low-carbon development, especially by making power batteries and crystalline silicon photovoltaics a new industry "battle" track. These two billion dollar industrial clusters are rising on the Yangtze River.

From sewage to clean water and green bank, from coal and Baijiu, the traditional industry of "one black and one white", to the blue ocean of new energy industry, Yibin, located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, strives to take the responsibility and act in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, so that the green ecological belt and the green industrial belt can "float" at "zero kilometers" and complement each other.