In recent years, Jingzhou has been taking vigorous actions to protect the YangtzeRiver, focusing on shoreline improvement, solid waste cleaning, wharf greeningand afforestation. The Yangtze River has taken on a new look, and a new picturescroll, with the theme that “The Beauty of the Yangtze River Lies in theJingjiang River,” is being unfolded on both sides of the 483-km Jingzhou River.

TheYaotoubu Dock in Gong’an County used to have three wharfs engaged in thetransportation of sand, stone and mine construction materials, occupying 1,200meters of the shoreline and covering 51,000 sq.m. of beach land, which causederosion to the shoreline of the Yangtze River. During the improvement project,1,500 cubic meters of construction waste were cleared and transported, 2,930 cubicmeters of earth were backfilled and 831 trees were planted, thus restoring thetranquility and beauty of the shoreline.

Thisyear, Jingzhou Municipality plans to plant 630,000 mu of trees, more than halfof which are distributed along the Yangtze River. Afforestation on both sidesof the Yangtze River will reach 368,000 mu, increasing by 155,000 mu,accounting for 76% of the total task assigned to the province. Up to now, 224,000mu of new trees have been planted along the river, and the total area ofafforestation has reached 1.6 million mu. Meanwhile, the Yangtze River ShorelineManagement System has been established, with 544 full-time/part-time shorelinemanagers covering the entire shoreline of the Yangtze River. The pattern forthe management and control of the Yangtze River shoreline, which features both“people” and “technology,” has basically taken shape.

Theonce chaotic banks, where factory buildings were abandoned, wharfs densely distributed,sand and gravel seen everywhere, and sewage flowed in all directions, havetaken on a new look and become a beautiful park named Linjiangxian Park and ascenic belt along the Jingjiang River. Basking in the warm spring breeze,40,000 tulips blossom brilliantly in the park, and residents enjoy strolling inthis vast sea of flowers.

Theecological environment along the Yangtze River is the focus of this improvementproject. Secretary-General Xi proposed to “promote high-quality economicdevelopment with the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt” during hisvisit to Hubei Province and the Yangtze River. In order to implement thisimportant requirement from General Secretary Xi, Jingzhou is making everyeffort to advance the 10 major landmark campaigns for the protection of theYangtze River and the 10 strategic measures for the green development of theYangtze River Economic Belt. The municipality has planned on the constructionof a number of major projects, among which Jingzhou Railway-Water IntermodalTransport Storage and Distribution Base Phase I, located in Majiazhai Townshipat the intersection of the Menghua Railway and the Yangtze River, has made substantialprogress.

Itis understood that the construction of the storage and distribution base isdivided into two phases. After Phase I is completed and put into operation, thestatic storage capacity of coal will reach 3.05 million tons, which will exerta far-reaching impact on the high-quality development of the Yangtze RiverEconomic Zone in Hubei Province.

InJanuary, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 11th Provincial Party Committeeestablished a regional and industrial development strategy comprised of “onecore, two belts and three districts,” which gives Jingzhou an unprecedentedopportunity for development. The entire municipality takes the Jianghan Plainas the demonstration area for revitalization and development; strives to be themain force for ideological emancipation and bold expansion, the protection andpollution control of the Yangtze River, the high-quality development of industry,the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, the inheritance of thecharacteristic culture and the development of the cultural tourism industry andthe strengthening of Party construction; highlights the “four-wheel drive”pattern; strengthens the “two-wing guarantees”; and speeds up the transformationand revitalization of Jingzhou.