Zhangjiagang in Suzhou is making strong efforts to balance social development with environmental protection. [Photo/zjgonline.com.cn]

Zhangjiagang in East China's Jiangsu province, a city along the Yangtze River, has achieved remarkable progress with its water and river protection efforts by appointing river chiefs to fight pollution and illegal fishing in recent years, according to a local news report.

Local authorities have said that in 2017, the city implemented a citywide river chief system that names top local officials as river chiefs and makes them responsible for protecting water resources, controlling and preventing pollution, and restoring aquatic ecosystems.

By relying on the rich resources along its long river banks, Zhangjiagang has been working to promote port-vicinity industries since reform and opening-up first started in 1978. It has built a large shipyard and many wharfs there, breaking the ecological balance of nature. Villagers living along the river suffered from heavy noise and awful stink, as well as dust on windy days.

With the implementation of the river chief system, the city is now managing to balance social development with environmental protection.

In 2019, the city invested 3.76 billion yuan ($572.65 million) into a project to improve the local environment. A large number of illegal wharfs along river shores were demolished and the riverbanks were cleaned up, resulting in a huge improvement in the water quality of the city's rivers and lakes.