Local protection efforts have led to great improvements of major rivers and lakes in China.
Bengbu City of east China's Anhui Province has been advancing its "Beautiful Huaihe River" project since 2022.
Besides enjoying the scenery, locals can also play a variety of sports along the riverside such as basketball, tennis and football.
"I am really proud. Some friends living in other cities saw videos of Bengbu and said, 'Wow! The buildings along the banks of Huaihe River are like those in Shanghai's Pudong,'" said Ma Yifei, a local.
"Water quality of the Huaihe River has been maintained at Class III for years in a row, with its ecological environment becoming better and better and that of relevant rivers and lakes improving greatly," said Fu Qiang, head of the River and Lake Management Division of the Huaihe River Water Resources Commission.
Taihu Lake, Jiangsu Province, east China. /CFP
Upgraded facilities, including wetland parks, along the Taihu Lake in Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, are drawing more and more tourists, as well as many locals for entrepreneurship.
"Many tourists come here to enjoy the beautiful environment. After working in other cities, many of my friends find that our hometown is getting better and better, so they want to come back and start their own businesses here," said Jiang Liwen, manager of a local cafe.
Water quality of the Taihu Lake is at its best since 2007.
"We will make persistent efforts in new-round implementation of the action plan on comprehensive environmental governance of Taihu, pushing forward green adjustment of industrial structure, and advancing overall control of industrial pollution, wastewater from life, and agricultural pollution," said Liu Chaoyang, chief of the Taihu Division of the Department of Ecology and Environment of Jiangsu Province.
(Cover: Huaihe River, Anhui Province, east China. /CFP)