Restoration efforts turn polluted park into green jewel

Residents from Ma'anshan in Anhui province frequently visit local parks along the Yangtze River.

One of the areas, Xuejiawa ecological park, receives thousands of visits each day during weekends and holidays at no charge, according to local officials.

The park, whose name literally means "low-lying area of the Xue family", is located on the eastern shore of the Yangtze River, which runs from south to north in the Ma'anshan section.

In March 2019, the provincial authorities found the area was crowded with fishing boats, shantytowns, polluting enterprises, illegal wharves, animal farms and solid waste dumps.

The city government has made great efforts to restore not only Xuejiawa itself, but a whole area of 30 square kilometers which extends 23 kilometers along the Yangtze.