Over a year ago, China rolled out the Yangtze River Protection Law to safeguard its longest river. The legislation, the first of its kind in the country, strengthens oversight as well as the prevention and control of water pollution in the river basin.

In fact, actions to restore its water ecology started much earlier than that. In a recent trip, CGTN visited the Tuojiang River in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and checked out its green transformation from stinky ditches into urban green spaces.

Almost every afternoon, Hao Yaowen comes to the Tuojiang River, and swims for half an hour. The 81-year-old man has been doing this for more than three decades. Along with health benefits of taking a dip in a natural water body, he recounted witnessing a huge boost in the river ecology.

"This river used to be full of pollutants. But now, there are at least 10 boats operating in the river to do the clean-up work. People here are becoming more conscious about protecting the water. I can even take a sip of the water when I feel thirsty as I swim," Hao told CGTN in an interview.

Located in the lower reaches of Tuojiang River, Neijiang City in southwest China's Sichuan Province set up this clean-up team back in 2010. Despite all the effort, there's no obvious improvement in water quality. Since 2018, Neijiang City has invested nearly $3 billion to make it cleaner. A large sum of money was spent on constructing water treatment and waste-to-energy plants.

Altogether, the city has turned 11 stinky ditches along the river stretch into urban green spaces. By the end of last year, Neijiang had seen a rise in green areas by almost 80 hectares.

As the ecology improves, a rare type of freshwater jellyfish has been found in waters connecting the Tuojiang River. Experts say they're very sensitive to the environment and only exist in clean waters. Black-headed gulls are also among the new discoveries in recent years.

"We can see clear waters and green mountains. And some creatures have begun to increase, which adds up to the diversity of life. The construction of green spaces and greenways has brought people closer to nature and provided them with places to rest and play. It helps improve their sense of gain and happiness," Ma Ju, vice mayor of Neijiang, told CGTN in an exclusive interview.

The Tuojiang River flows through seven different cities within Sichuan Province. Its runs over 700 kilometers until it joins the Yangtze River in Luzhou.

"In the first half of 2022, the Tuojiang River saw the quality of water at nearly 90 percent of all monitored sections rated at Grade III or above. The river ecology has reached the best level in the past 20 years, and the improvement ranks first among all major rivers in Sichuan Province," said Rui Yongfeng from Sichuan Ecology & Environment Department.

There're more and more people joining Hao Yaowen in swimming along the Tuojiang River. The old man says he will stick to this routine until he is 90 years old, as long as the water remains clean and clear.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at nature@cgtn.com.)