The scenic city of Guilin in southern China is one of the best-known tourist destinations in the country. CGTN reporter He Weiwei takes us to see how the city is working to preserve that reputation, by improving the quality of its waterways.

There's an old Chinese proverb, saying "Guilin's beautiful scenery is second to none". And the best of that scenery can be found around Li River, the city's signature river, and its tributaries.

HE WEIWEI GUILIN "Here in downtown Guilin, there's something you cannot miss, the 'Liang Jiang Si Hu'. It's a cluster of two rivers and four lakes, all connected to each other."

There's no better way to see the city than by taking a cruise. Wei Zhenfeng has been working as a tour guide in Guilin for seven years. He's welcomed tens of thousands of tourists, but never gets tired of describing Guilin's beauty to his guests.

WEI ZHENFENG, TOUR GUIDE GUILIN MINJIAN INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AGENCY "As a local, I'm so proud of my hometown. The 'two rivers and four lakes', it's not just a place for tourists. It's deeply related to local people's lives. When I was little, my parents often took me here to play, and that remains one of my best early memories of the city. So I want to introduce the beauty of the Guilin lifestyle to its visitors."

The rivers and lakes used to be separated. They were connected in 2002, when the city established a ring river system, and made it a special feature of Guilin.

TOURIST "I thought such scenic places would be far away from the city center, but to my surprise, nature and the city are perfectly merged together."

Tourism is a pillar of the Guilin economy. To the local government, protecting the river's natural beauty and keeping it clean is a priority.

ZHAO LEQIN, SECRETARY GUILIN MUNICIPAL COMMITTEE OF COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHINA "We have blocked 98 percent of waste water drain outlets to the river. Now the river's mainstream meets the country's second highest water standard."

That result needed consistent efforts by the local government. 65-year-old Huang Gang used to live on Fulongzhou, a small island in the city center. Like most of his neighbors, he ran a fish restaurant there. Business was good, but caused the river to get polluted. In 2016, the local government launched a relocation project to help residents move out.

HUANG GANG GUILIN RESIDENT "In the past, the restaurants did pollute the river, but that was our only way to make a living. The government then offered us subsidies and helped us find jobs elsewhere, so we're willing to move."

All of the island's residents have now been relocated, and the old houses pulled down. In two months, this island will be transformed into a scenic park.

CHEN YONGDONG, DIRECTOR-IN-CHIEF DIECAI FULONGZHOU RELOCATION & ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION PROJECT, GUILIN "Residents can choose whether to move to designated houses or accept housing subsidies. And we also offer vocational training, to make sure they are well resettled."

Early this year, Guilin was selected as one of three demonstration zones in China for sustainable development. The work to protect the city's river will carry on. HWW, CGTN, GUILIN.