Recently, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment released the fifth batch of exemplary cases under the Beautiful Rivers and Lakes project. The Suoxi River in Zhangjiajie made the list. This marks another national-level honor for a river or lake in Hunan Province, following the Guitang River, the Liuyang River, the Dongjiang Lake, the Weishui River, and the Xushui River.

The Suoxi River originates in the hinterland of the Wuling Mountains, gathering streams such as Golden Whip Stream, Yuanyang Stream, and Panlong Stream. With a total length of 63 kilometers and a drainage area of 528 square kilometers, the river runs through the Wulingyuan Core Scenic Area and the urban area. It serves as an important ecological barrier and water resource carrier for the world natural heritage site. As a typical representative of tourism-oriented watersheds, the Suoxi River once faced structural challenges such as frequent occurrences of "illegal occupation, sand mining, dumping of solid waste, and construction" in its river channel, insufficient sewage treatment capacity, and unstable ecological flow. The difficulty of managing these issues lies in the need to simultaneously address the environmental pressures resulting from tourism-driven urbanization while adhering to the conservation constraints of a world-class natural landscape.

Guided by the river chief system, Wulingyuan District in Zhangjiajie City has adhered to source control, systematic treatment, and tailored policies, forging an effective path for watershed management in an ecologically sensitive area. A total of 571 households in the scenic area have been relocated, thereby reducing domestic pollution at the source. In terms of infrastructure, the Suoxi Valley Sewage Treatment Plant has completed its capacity expansion, achieving full coverage of rural domestic sewage treatment across ten administrative villages in the watershed and raising the sewage treatment rate to 96%. In terms of restoration, the district has coordinated efforts to dredge river channels, green the shorelines, and regulate ecological flow, increasing the natural shoreline ratio to 65.38% and maintaining the dry-season ecological flow compliance rate at 100%.

The core value of Suoxi River's conservation practice lies in establishing a pathway that transforms "lucid waters and lush mountains" into "invaluable assets." The riverside space with clear water and green banks has become an ecological venue for public leisure and fitness, and also directly improves tourism quality at the world natural heritage site.

The Ecology and Environment Department of Hunan Province noted that it will continue to consolidate the achievements made in the Beautiful Rivers and Lakes project, coordinate the protection of water resources, the aquatic environment, and aquatic ecosystems, and help more rivers and lakes achieve "clear waters, green banks, beautiful landscapes, and happy people." It aims to make green the defining feature of Hunan's high-quality development and contribute more to the construction of a Beautiful China.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn