Chongqing—A decade after Chongqing introduced the river chief system, the main channel of the Yangtze River in Chongqing has maintained Class II water quality under China's national surface-water standards for nine consecutive years. All nationally monitored sections in the city have met China's good-or-excellent water quality standards for three consecutive years. Across Chongqing, 18,300 river chiefs have made more than 5.36 million patrol visits and resolved over 310,000 river-related problems, according to figures presented at an event marking the system's 10th anniversary in Zhongxian County on Nov. 10.

Participants attend an event in Zhongxian County on Nov. 10, marking the 10th anniversary of Chongqing's river chief system. (Photo: LI Xinyi)

Under China's river chief system, local officials are assigned responsibility for managing and protecting designated rivers and lakes. Over the past decade, Chongqing has established a four-level river chief system, covering the municipal, district and county, township and subdistrict, and village and community levels. The system extends to more than 5,300 rivers and 3,075 reservoirs across Chongqing.

Regular patrols, performance reviews, and handover procedures help keep responsibilities clear, while departments responsible for water resources, environmental protection, agriculture and rural affairs, and other areas work together on river management.

Chongqing has combined targeted cleanups, riverbank restoration, and digital monitoring to improve river management. Over the past decade, authorities have identified and addressed more than 2,000 problems involving illegal occupation of river areas, illegal sand mining, illegal dumping, and unauthorized construction. Large-scale illegal sand mining has largely been eliminated.

Mozi Lake Park in Zhongxian County features calm waters and tree-covered hills, offering residents a peaceful place to enjoy nature. (Photo: LI Xinyi)

Chongqing has also developed a Smart River Chief platform shared by all four levels of the system. Monitoring devices and AI tools help identify risks and issue alerts, reducing the time needed to handle reported problems from 10 days to two. The platform has made river monitoring and management faster and more precise.

The judiciary has also joined river protection. In Zhongxian County, a coordination mechanism brings together river chiefs, courts, prosecutors, and police, extending legal support beyond handling violations after they occur to preventing problems earlier.

Fang Hongyan, head of the Cuiping Tribunal at the Zhongxian County People's Court and a judge assigned to river and reservoir protection, said the mechanism had helped resolve more than 20 water-related cases and had facilitated more than 30 joint patrols. Rather than focusing mainly on penalties after violations occur, the approach emphasizes legal education, early intervention, and coordinated action, with greater attention to restoring damaged ecosystems.

The court also uses a mobile courtroom van to bring legal services and public education into local communities. In one contract dispute involving the transfer of rights to use a fishpond, judges took the mobile courtroom to the site, used previous cases to explain the relevant laws, and helped the parties understand the value of mediation.

Inside a mobile courtroom operated by the Zhongxian County People's Court, the vehicle has seating for a judge, a court clerk, a plaintiff, and a defendant, allowing hearings to be held directly in local communities. (Photo: LI Xinyi)

Fang said the vehicle can also be used for on-site hearings, legal education, and remote video hearings. By taking these services directly to residents, judges can help address disputes before they escalate and raise public awareness of the ecological value of local waterways.

Rivers that cross administrative boundaries require cooperation between the areas they pass through. The 47.3-kilometer Xinsheng River crosses the boundary between Liangping District in Chongqing and Kaijiang County in Sichuan Province.

In July 2023, Xinsheng Town in Liangping District, Chongqing, and Renshi Town in Kaijiang County, Sichuan, signed an agreement on coordinated river management. Since then, the two towns have conducted joint river patrols and cleanups every quarter, along with routine water-quality monitoring at sections where the river enters and leaves their respective jurisdictions. They also notify each other when monitoring detects abnormal water-quality readings and coordinate a response. Water quality at the nationally monitored Lianmengqiao section of the Xinsheng River has consistently met Grade III standards or better.

Zhongxian has also established joint protection arrangements with five neighboring districts and counties. A cross-regional ecological compensation mechanism covers seven rivers that cross administrative boundaries, encouraging participating areas to share responsibility for river protection.

The results are also reflected in the recovery of aquatic life. Monitoring has recorded 121 native fish species in the Yangtze River's main channel in Chongqing, 52 more than before the fishing ban took effect. A recent fish resource survey also recorded Ochetobius elongatus, a rare and endangered fish that had not been recorded in the Yangtze for years. Its rediscovery offers another sign of improving aquatic conditions in the region.

The benefits also extend to residents' daily lives. Chongqing has developed 70 rivers and lakes under its Rivers and Lakes for Happiness initiative and built 821 waterfront access points, directly benefiting 14.71 million residents. Under Chongqing's evaluation system for the initiative, rivers and lakes are assessed not only on water quality and ecological health but also on flood safety, public access, smart management, water-related cultural heritage, and public satisfaction.

In Zhongxian County, riverbank restoration has also changed how residents use the waterfront. The site was once a sand-and-gravel wharf, which closed in 2015 as part of efforts to protect the Yangtze River. Following ecological restoration and redevelopment, the site opened in September 2025 as Juruo Zhongzhoudu, a 217,000-square-meter riverside park and leisure destination.

Cloud-shaped art installations add a distinctive feature to the landscaped grounds at Juruo Zhongzhoudu, a riverside leisure destination in Zhongxian County.(Photo: LI Xingyi)

The project restored 3.2 kilometers of riverbank, created a 12,000-square-meter constructed wetland, and planted more than 20 native plant species. 60% of the park's public space is reserved for residents. Since opening, the site has received more than 2.3 million visits.

The project has also introduced a mechanism to channel part of its revenue back into environmental protection. Tan Mengqi, a staff member of the Zhongxian County River Chief Office, said a tripartite agreement involving the Zhongxian County Water Resources Bureau, the Zhongxian Three Gorges Reservoir Service Center and the site's operator sets aside part of the project's operating revenue in a dedicated account for river management, ecological restoration and waterway cleanup. The funds are not distributed as company dividends. The initial cooperation period is 10 years.

The arrangement is intended to ensure that some of the economic value generated by the riverside destination continues to support the waterways and ecosystems it depends on.

The Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Water Resources said it would continue to strengthen cooperation across administrative boundaries and coordination among government departments to build on progress in protecting the Yangtze.

Over the past decade, river management in Chongqing has shifted from managing individual sections of waterways to coordinating protection across entire river basins, and from responding to problems after they arise to preventing them at the source. Government agencies have also increasingly worked with local communities and the public in protecting rivers and lakes.