New Era China Research Tour · Yellow River Chapter | New Tide Flows Between Great Rivers - Shaanxi Promotes Ecological Protection and High Quality Development in the Yellow River Basin Observation of Ecology | Yellow River | Shaanxi

Xi'an, September 13th (Xinhua) - New Tide Flows Between Great Rivers - Observations on Shaanxi's Promotion of Ecological Protection and High quality Development in the Yellow River Basin

Xinhua News Agency reporters Chen Chen, Zhang Chenjun, Jiang Chenrong

Qiangtou Village, Fugu County, Yulin City, is the location of the "First Bay of the Yellow River Entering Shaanxi", with crisscrossing peaks on both sides and lush green fields. Thousands of years ago, the bitter frontier has now become a contiguous modern agricultural park, with fragrant fruits and lush greenery.

The Yellow River is surging, with countless phenomena and changes beyond the First Bay. In recent years, Shaanxi has solidly promoted ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin, with new trends surging up and down the river.

Clear waters and green mountains, green birds fly back

In early autumn, the Yellow River National Wetland Park in Tongguan, Shaanxi is lush and full of vitality. The mudflat and wetlands are dotted with the scenic spots of the Yellow River. From time to time, birds fly by.

"Through the implementation of special actions such as returning farmland to wetlands and wetland conservation and grazing prohibition, Tongguan County has built 1120 acres of protective forests on the west bank of the Yellow River, and the greening rate of riverbank trees has reached 92%." Liu Peng, director of the Tongguan County Wetland Protection Center, said that this place has become an important migration and wintering place for migratory birds.

On June 2, 2023, a drone captured the Yellow River wetland in Heyang County, Weinan City, Shaanxi Province. Shen Jizhong

From the Guanzhong Plain to the Loess Plateau, following the Yellow River upstream, an ecological corridor full of green mountains and tranquil rivers is accelerating its formation in Shaanxi.

In Yichuan County, Yan'an City, a cliff afforestation team consisting of more than 30 people is active on the cliffs on the west bank of the Yellow River. Over the past 11 years, they planted over 10000 acres of forest in ecologically fragile areas such as cliffs and steep slopes.

"When I was a child, the mountains were bare and the wind filled my mouth with dust; now, the entire northern Shaanxi has turned green." 48 year old captain Wang Yonghong sighed with emotion.

As one of the areas with the most severe soil erosion in the Yellow River Basin, Yan'an has been coordinating the comprehensive management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, and sands for many years, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Key efforts have been made in soil and water conservation and vegetation restoration, and the Loess Plateau has achieved a historic transformation from yellow to green.

Wang Zhanjin, Director of the Forestry Bureau of Yan'an City, said that the vegetation coverage in Yan'an has reached 81.3%, and the annual sediment inflow into the Yellow River has decreased from 258 million tons in the past to 31 million tons. "One bowl of water, half a bowl of sand" has become history.

In order to make the Yellow River a happy river for the benefit of the people, Shaanxi Province issued the "Shaanxi Province Yellow River Basin Ecological Protection and High quality Development Plan" in 2021, focusing on continuous efforts in ecological protection and restoration, soil and water conservation, and other areas. According to data from the Department of Ecology and Environment of Shaanxi Province, in 2022, among the 65 national controlled water quality sections in the Yellow River Basin of Shaanxi Province, Class I to III water quality sections accounted for 93.8%, with no inferior Class V water quality sections, and the overall water quality was excellent for the first time.

Industrial transformation towards green and new

The land area, population, and total economic output of the Shaanxi section of the Yellow River Basin account for 65%, 83%, and 88% of the province's total, respectively, gathering Shaanxi's strongest innovative resources, industrial foundation, and energy reserves. In recent years, Shaanxi has accelerated the green transformation of its development mode, continuously increasing the "green content" and "new content" of development, and reducing the "carbon content".

Yang Yang, Deputy Mayor of Yulin City, said that as an important national energy base along the Yellow River, Yulin has carried out low-carbon reconstruction of the entire process of coal chemical industry, and a number of advanced projects such as 1.8 million tons of ethylene glycol from Shaanxi coal have been completed and put into operation. Last year, the number of high-tech enterprises and technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises in the city increased by over 90% year-on-year.

Suitable for industry and agriculture, the Shaanxi section of the Yellow River Basin is tailored to local conditions, actively exploring new paths of high-quality development with regional characteristics.

In Wugong County, Xianyang City, located on the bank of the Wei River, the largest tributary of the Yellow River, the warehouse of JD Logistics Shaanxi Intelligent Supply Chain Center is filled with a variety of fruits from multiple regions in the northwest.

Starting from the early years of online sales of kiwifruit, Wugong has developed the e-commerce logistics industry dominated by deep processing of agricultural products into the top industry in the county economy. Sun Bo, Executive Deputy County Magistrate of Wugong County, said that the county's e-commerce sales revenue reached 5.5 billion yuan last year.

On April 20, 2022, staff carried out the assembly of new energy vehicles at the automotive assembly plant of Xi'an BYD Caotang Industrial Park. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Xiao

Green development is not only a requirement, but also an opportunity. In 2022, the first zero carbon factory of a domestic vehicle enterprise, Geely Automobile Xi'an Factory, was born in Jingwei New City, Xi'an Economic Development Zone. In the first five months of this year, new energy vehicles accounted for 42.56% of the total production of Xi'an Geely, far exceeding expectations.

According to Luo Jian'an, Secretary General of the Xi'an Automobile Industry Chain Supply Chain Alliance, in 2022, Xi'an will produce over 1 million new energy vehicles. "This is the sweetness that Xi'an has tasted with technological innovation as the lead and adhering to green development."

Enjoy ecological dividends

The mountains are bare, and the ditches are flooded. Every year, disasters occur, and there are nine out of ten harvests. This is the past of Gaoxigou Village in Mizhi County, Yulin City.

Under the blue sky and white clouds, green mountains stretch out, with apple trees bearing numerous fruits and terraced fields embellishing them... This is the current appearance of Gaoxigou Village.

For decades, the party members and masses of Gaoxigou Village have been steadfast in their determination to build a model for ecological governance in the Loess Plateau. By developing rural tourism and strengthening collective economy, the per capita disposable income of villagers will reach 21700 yuan in 2022.

People will not betray the green mountains, and the green mountains will not betray them. More and more places are organically integrating ecological governance with the development of characteristic industries, enjoying the ecological dividend.

Zhaojia'an Village, Baota District, Yan'an City, has a quaint style of cave dwelling homestays, accompanied by picturesque mountains, attracting tourists. The once impoverished and remote countryside has become a provincial-level rural tourism demonstration village in Shaanxi. "Green waters and green mountains are our beautiful scenery!" said villager Zhang Qiguo.

A flower greenhouse developed in Zhaojia'an Village, Hezhuangping Town, Baota District, Yan'an City, captured on March 30, 2022. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shao Rui

The Jiuqu Yellow River flows through the ages, nurturing a profound Yellow River culture. In 2022, the "Three Year Action Plan for the Protection, Inheritance, and Promotion of the Yellow River Culture in Shaanxi" was released, proposing six major actions, including the study of the Yellow River culture and the protection and utilization of the Yellow River cultural heritage, to systematically plan the protection, inheritance, and promotion of the Yellow River culture.

Moving step by step, the story of the Yellow River is slowly beginning to unfold——

Beside the Hukou Waterfall, folk artists sing the resounding and melodious song "Ninety nine bays of the Yellow River in the world"; At the foot of Baota Mountain, red performing arts such as "Thirteen Years of Yan'an" have become popular; In the Shaanbei Folk Song Museum, one tune after another sings the mountains and rivers on the surface

"In the past, folk songs used to sing 'Brother, you go to the west, little sister, I really can't stay...' But now we sing 'Hometown has changed, beautiful scenery, hot singing...'" said Yin Yupeng, Executive Vice Chairman of Yan'an Folk Literature and Art Association. The change in lyrics reflects the development and progress of the times.