Vital waterway gets another chance

Lower reaches

After passing through the city of Linfen, the Fenhe leaves Shanxi in Wanrong county, Yuncheng city.

A State-owned cement enterprise has carried out greening work at a deserted mine, preventing water loss and soil erosion. This work has also resulted in wildlife returning to Yuncheng.

The mine, operated by Wenxi Jidong Haitian Cement Co, produced 2.3 million tons of cement annually.

Responding to a call by the authorities to restore the environment at deserted mines, the company began planting trees and grass at the site in 2017. It invested about 4 million yuan on greening 150,000 square meters of land, planting 20,000 trees and growing grass on an area of 110,000 square meters.

However, the greening process did not go well initially.

Zhang Shidong, a senior official at the company, said: "We thought it would be an easy task－just buying some saplings and grass seeds, planting and sowing them at the mine, and leaving the rest to nature. But we were wrong. Many types of grass and trees, including poplars, could not survive at the mine because of the water and soil quality."

The company tried several types of trees and grass before achieving success.

Now, the rocky terrain is covered in greenery, and wild animals－including hares, owls and deer－can be seen in the area, Zhang said.

At the point where the Fenhe meets the Yellow River and leaves Shanxi, a national monitoring station set up in August last year has started to check water quality.

Chai Ruiping, deputy head of the Yuncheng city environment and ecology bureau, said, "This is the final test for the Fenhe's water quality, as it's the last checkpoint before it enters the Yellow River.

"In the past, quality at the site was below Grade V, significantly affecting the water quality of the Yellow River," she said.

The water quality on most mainstream sections of the Yellow River is Grade III.

Chai added that water quality at the monitoring station has remained at Grade IV this year.

Yao Keyun, a professor of forestry at Shanxi Yuncheng Agricultural Vocational and Technical College, has visited the site several times in recent years.

"The mountains along the Fenhe River used to be gray and black, but now they look blue and green," she said.

The combined efforts have paid off. By June, water quality at 13 national-level inspection centers along the Fenhe had risen to Grade V. No more water below this grade is entering the Yellow River from the Fenhe.

After the Fenhe enters the Yellow River, it also passes through Shaanxi and Henan provinces, the country's main grain production centers, with respective populations of 39 million and 96 million.

As the water quality of the Fenhe improves, it will clearly have a positive effect on thousands of people's livelihoods on the lower reaches of the Yellow River.