The Yangtze River, often called China’s “Mother River,” is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world. Its basin is an immense ecological and economic engine, supporting nearly one-third of the country’s population and generating approximately 45% of its GDP. Decades of unconstrained industrialization and urban growth resulted in extensive pollution from factory discharge, municipal sewage, and agricultural runoff, threatening the river’s ecological integrity and public health. Recognizing this environmental crisis, the nation initiated a comprehensive, top-down correction strategy, shifting its focus from rapid economic expansion to ecological protection and restoration. This effort involves establishing a foundational legal framework, restructuring the industrial landscape, and investing in vast environmental infrastructure.
Establishing the Yangtze River Protection Law
The national effort is fundamentally guided by the Yangtze River Protection Law (YPL), which came into effect on March 1, 2021. This legislation is a major step in Chinese environmental governance, dedicated entirely to the river basin. The law mandates “priority protection, green development,” signaling an official end to the development-first approach of previous decades.
The YPL grants central authorities significant power to enforce environmental standards across the vast, multi-provincial basin. It establishes a unified coordination mechanism to override local government incentives for unchecked economic growth, ensuring comprehensive, basin-wide environmental planning. The law includes provisions for financial input and ecological protection funds, alongside enforcement mechanisms like fines, tort liability for ecological harm, and criminal prosecution for severe violations.
The framework includes performance assessments for lower-level governments, holding local officials accountable for meeting ecological targets. It also sets the foundation for a river-wide monitoring network to share data on ecology, resources, and hydrology.
Restructuring Industrial Activity Along the Basin
A primary component of the correction strategy involves restructuring the economy in the river’s immediate vicinity. The former model, which clustered heavy industry along the riverbanks for easy access to water and transport, is being systematically dismantled. This shift mandates the closure, relocation, or upgrading of high-polluting enterprises, particularly those in the chemical, petrochemical, and paper industries.
The most visible measure is the enforcement of a strict “one kilometer control zone” along the main river and its key tributaries. New chemical industrial parks or projects are prohibited within one kilometer of the shorelines. This policy has led to the closure or relocation of over 9,000 chemical enterprises across the basin, eliminating the concentrated belt of chemical plants that once lined the river.
Enterprises that were not closed were compelled to undergo technological transformation, investing in advanced waste treatment and recycling systems to meet stricter discharge standards. This industrial overhaul transitions the region from a traditional manufacturing base to one focused on higher-value, lower-impact industries.
Large-Scale Wastewater Treatment Infrastructure
Addressing untreated municipal and domestic sewage necessitated extensive infrastructure development. Historically, urban sewage often flowed directly into the river and its tributaries. The core of the infrastructure correction involves the construction and upgrade of sewage treatment plants (WWTPs) and the pipe networks required to collect the wastewater.
The campaign has resulted in the construction of hundreds of new centralized wastewater treatment facilities and the laying of thousands of kilometers of new sewage collection pipelines. This expansion focuses on extending coverage beyond major cities to include smaller towns and rural areas, where treatment facilities were previously inadequate. The goal is to eliminate “black and odorous” water bodies in urban areas and significantly increase the proportion of wastewater receiving secondary or tertiary treatment.
The strategy also targets non-point source pollution, particularly from agriculture and livestock operations. For large-scale livestock and poultry farms, a target was set to recycle at least 80% of animal waste, shifting to a circular model where manure is used as fertilizer on cropland. This measure reduces the input of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus, which drive water quality degradation and harmful algal blooms.
Ecological Rehabilitation and Biodiversity Focus
Beyond pollution control, a parallel effort focuses on restoring the river’s ecosystem and declining biodiversity. The most extensive measure implemented for ecological recovery is the 10-year fishing ban, which took full effect on January 1, 2021, across the river’s main stem and major tributaries. This moratorium allows severely depleted fish stocks and aquatic life to recover from decades of overfishing.
Monitoring shows a measurable recovery in aquatic resources, including the Yangtze finless porpoise, a flagship species. This recovery is supported by habitat restoration projects, including the protection and expansion of wetlands and riparian zones. The government provided financial support and re-employment assistance for former fishermen affected by the ban, helping them transition to new livelihoods.
Other ecological efforts include prohibiting illegal sand mining, which destabilized riverbanks and destroyed aquatic habitats, and conservation programs for endangered species like the finless porpoise and the Yangtze sturgeon. This focus on rehabilitation marks a long-term commitment to reversing environmental damage and restoring the natural functions of the river system.