Vital waterway gets another chance

Upper reaches

The Fenhe originates in Ningwu county, Xinzhou city and the Yellow River also enters Shanxi in Xinzhou.

On the upper reaches of the Fenhe, restoration projects have been carried out to preserve water and soil. The work has also reduced environmental damage, ensuring supplies of clean water for people living on the middle and lower reaches.

In 2017, Wang, the villager who moved, opened a homestay, which has gradually received a rising number of tourists.

Wang moved as part of the city's environmental restoration projects. In 2018, the work to protect the upper and middle reaches of the Fenhe was selected as one of the national trial programs to restore the ecosystem, with the local project receiving 4.9 billion yuan ($721.8 million).

Projects carried out in Ningwu and Jingle counties, Xinzhou, included restoring the environment in and alongside the river, establishing a wetland park, greening the banks and mountains along the waterway, protecting biodiversity and restoring water sources, according to the Xinzhou municipal government.

A national wetland park－Fenhechuan National Wetland Park－in Jingle county was one of the projects. The park was established to prevent water loss and soil erosion, restore the wetland ecosystem and improve the environment.

Work on the park began in 2014, and last year after it passed an inspection by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the venue started to steadily attract visitors.

Covering nearly 600 hectares, the park includes 18 villages. Trees have been planted along the banks of the Fenhe to prevent water loss and soil erosion, and some 33 hectares of farmland have been restored to wetland.

Li Quanquan is one of the village farmers who have become rangers at the wetland park.

The 64-year-old patrols the park every day to check for fire hazards, prevent people shooting birds and stunning the fish with electrical equipment.

In May, Li ordered a man he found stunning fish to leave. "I told him the area was now a wetland park and catching fish was against the law. The man drove away," he said.

Li earns 10,000 yuan a year as a ranger and also makes 5,000 yuan to 6,000 yuan from growing crops, including potatoes and corn.

Sacrifices have been made by the county authorities, as closing businesses to protect the environment means they receive less tax revenue.

But one county official described such measures as "a good call and a sustainable decision".

The Party chief of Jingle county, Wang Xin, quoted President Xi as saying, "Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets."

Wang is setting his sights on boosting the local economy through tourism.

"Tourists from nearby cities, such as Taiyuan (the provincial capital), have started to arrive during weekends, even though the park is not fully open to the public," he said.

The park is about a 90-minute drive from Taiyuan.

Water quality at the Fenhe's source and at the wetland park has remained at Grade II, the second-highest level on the national five-tier water quality system.