Cleanup campaign restores Yangtze River habitat

Improvement

In the past three years, some 30,000 of these ant workers have removed more than 1,000 metric tons of garbage from the riverbanks, according to Li's estimates. Participants range across all age groups, from government officials to retirees and students.

According to Zhou Fengying, a 62-year-old volunteer who has lived in Yichang all her life, the ant workers have made a massive difference.

"There was a time when lots of stinking rubbish would be washed onto the banks during summer. The smell was unbearable," she said.

Now, the riverbank is slowly regaining its place as a peaceful spot for urban commuters and a popular haunt for family outings and post-supper walks.

It is also increasingly common for newlywed couples to have wedding photos taken there.

The transformation started with an impulse, according to Li, who opened his barbershop in 1986.

On Dec 1, 2015, he read a news story about Tommy Kleyn, a young man in the Netherlands.

Kleyn was shocked by the sight of a heavily polluted river he passed every day as he rode his bicycle to work, so he decided to clean it up.

To achieve his aim, he decided to get up 30 minutes earlier every day and spend the extra time working on the riverbank until all the garbage had been cleared away.

Inspired by Kleyn's devotion, Li decided to follow suit and clean up the banks of the Yangtze in his area. He began his mission two days later, equipped with rubber gloves and trash bags.

At that time, he visited the riverbank every day of the week.

On the first day, he collected more than 25 kilograms of trash from the riverbank, which had long been a dumping ground for garbage. The amount doubled on the second day, and again on the third.

"I'd say those days were some of the most unforgettable of my life. To be frank, I could not sleep the night before I started because I had an inner struggle," he said, recalling his concerns about people's opinions of him and whether they would look down on him as a "waste collector".

He also had to battle the harsh weather conditions. It was December in the southern province, where the generally humid climate exacerbates the feeling of being cold on winter mornings.

"On rainy or snowy days, the wind was like a knife that cut deep into my skin," he said.

"I dared not slacken off even once, because if I had done so, I would have found a million excuses not to go the next time."

Even more hurtful, though, was the barrage of unflattering opinions and misunderstandings from friends, neighbors and even passersby who questioned his motives. Many believed he was being paid to do the work or assumed he was only conducting the cleanup campaign to gain fame.

Other people laughed at what they saw as his stupidity and stubbornness.

"They thought I would never accomplish the task, because even if I cleaned up the riverbank one day it would be littered again the next," he said.