Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed ecology and "green development" in boosting the growth of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. In China's southwest Chongqing Municipality, local departments have highlighted water protection as part of its efforts to restore its ecological environment along the Yangtze, China's biggest river. Meng Qingsheng reports.

It's a daily routine here in Chongqing to clean up the Yangtze River. Ren Jiming, now in his 50s, is among the locals removing trash. Each year, they collect about 200 thousand tons of waste from the river.

REN JIMING YANGTZE RIVER CLEANER "I have been working here for more than eight years. There was huge amount of floating objects back then, but now the number has been reduced, and the water becomes cleaner."

The bulk of the waste increases during the rainy season, from May to August, which also causes flooding along the river. The season not only increases the amount of pollutants found in the water, but also those helping to remove the waste.

In 2003, local authorities launched Jiguanshi Sewage Treatment Plant to help reduce the pollution. This facility is able to treat 800 thousand tons of urban sewage daily.

LIU SHIHU CHIEF ENGINEER, CHONGQING DRAINAGE COMPANY "This plant handles about 70 percent of the total sewage coming from the city area. According to environment authorities, the water quality in the lower reach of the Yangtze River at Chongqing section is much cleaner than that from the upper reach. It shows the high efficiency of work of all the sewage treatment facilities in the city."

Chongqing has also opted for other ways to prevent pollution.

MENG QINGSHENG CHONGQING "This section of the Yangtze River runs through Chongqing's downtown area. For the past two decades, more than 40 boat restaurants like that one lined along the river, have been serving freshly cooked local fish. Each day, tons of sewage was poured into the water without any treatment. But as part of the initiative to protect the Yangtze River, local departments have upgraded those restaurants, and some of them were relocated to onshore areas."

About ten percent of the Yangtze River flows through Chongqing, measuring nearly 700 kilometers. To restore its water quality, local authorities have relocated heavy polluting factories along the river, and rejected projects with harmful environment impacts.

For Ren Jiming, his share of cleaning work fulfills a noble cause.

REN JIMING YANGTZE RIVER CLEANER "I have taken up several key cleaning up projects on the river. I like the job, so I am staying on the job. It's tiresome at some points, but I think it's worth the effort to make the Mother River cleaner."

The Yangtze River is facing severe environmental challenges after decades of exploitation. Chinese authorities have halted large-scale development along the river for the foreseeable future. Meng Qingsheng, CGTN, Chongqing.