Spanning 716 km, the Fenhe River, the second-largest tributary of the Yellow River – known as the "Mother River" to the Chinese – had suffered greatly from pollution over the years. River management is an extremely complex systemic issue. The challenges faced on the Fenhe River were a microcosm of the difficulties in river and lake management and protection in the past.

In October 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired the 28th meeting of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms, which approved the "Opinions on Fully Implementing the River Chief System."

The term "river chief system" was relatively alien back in 2017, as the rollout of proposals, targets and systems gradually began across the country. By the end of June 2018, information boards were erected beside rivers nationwide, notifying people that every river had been assigned a river chief. 

Six months later, the lake chief system was also fully rolled out, with a total of over 1.2 million river and lake chiefs at five levels – provincial, city, county, township and village – taking their posts.

Under the "river chief system," the environment of the Fenhe River has greatly improved.

Over the past seven years, the river and lake chief system, a Chinese solution to complex water issues, has been continuously improved through practices, resulting in the transformation of beautiful rivers and lakes.