In June 2003, Xi Jinping, the then-Party head of Zhejiang, launched the Green Rural Revival Program, with ecological development at its core. The program incorporated water management, waste management and recycling.

A total of 61,000 river chiefs were appointed to manage all water bodies. Their role is to protect and take full responsibility for rivers and waterways throughout the region, preventing and controlling pollution and managing ecological restoration.

Today, 97 percent of villages in Zhejiang have transformed their polluted waterways into clean, drinkable rivers, benefiting 30 million residents.