The ecological protection of the Yellow River, China's mother river, is crucial to people's livelihood, NPC deputy Zhang Jinhai told the press at the Deputies' Corridor before the second plenary meeting of the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) on Monday. 

As a worker from the Construction and Promotion Center of Wetland City in Dongying City, east China's Shandong Province, Zhang has special feelings for the Yellow River, whose estuary lies in his city. 

He shared the story of getting water from faraway places during the Yellow River's dry season when he was young, which makes him greatly cherish the river's water resources. During that work, he invented a product to save water in public toilets. The sensor he created now uses just one-tenth of the water previously required.

Having worked as a sanitation worker for 29 years, Zhang has witnessed great changes in cities, which have become cleaner, and the wetland is more beautiful, attracting more birds to reside in the city. He suggested setting up a sanitation workers' day to honor the three million workers who make our country clean and beautiful.

"This year is the Year of the Ox. We should work hard to make our country more environmentally friendly and more beautiful," said Zhang.