Awareness by upstream residents pays dividends

The rise of environmental awareness among inhabitants of areas along the upper tributaries of the Xin'an River - people like fish farmer Hu Chengjiu - is believed to be the crux of sustaining the entire ecological program along the main channel.

Huangshan city built garbage disposal stations in every village along the river. Nearly 3,000 residents are employed as sweepers of public sites in the rural communities.

In some communities, there's even a garbage exchange supermarket - for instance, 20 pesticide bottles can be exchanged for a packet of salt.