Chengdu's Urban Environmental Renovation

The Fu and Nan Rivers which encircle the central urban district of Chengdu have been central to the history of Chengdu for over two thousand years. By the late 1970's as a result of rapid industrial- ization, accelerated urbanization, population explosion, sharp increases in water usage and environmental deterioration, the Fu River seasonally dried up and the Nan River dried up completely. There were more than 650 wastewater outlets along the rivers that discharged a large amount of wastewater into the rivers and turned the Fu and Nan Rivers into a dirty and smelly ditch. About 30,000 families with some 100,000 members had settled along the banks in damp, low-lying shelters with few sanitation facilities. Since most of the shanty residents were very poor, the area became a breeding ground for disease and crime. The state of the rivers not only restrained the social and economic development of Chengdu and the western area of Sichuan, but heavily polluted the basins of the Min River and the upper branches of the Yangtze River.
In 1985, the students in Long Jiang Lu Primary School, which is situated on the banks of the Nan River, wrote a petition letter to the Mayor appealing for recuing the Fu and Nan Rivers and bringing back clear water. This letter evoked strong repercussions in the city and drew great attention from the municipal government. The government gook immediate actions and organized experts to draw up a plan. As a result, the Program for the Comprehensive Renovation of the Fu and Nan RIvers was created as the Number One Project of the municipality, which aimed at the overall revitalization foused on the control of water and the improvement of urban infrastructure and environment. The project was initiated in 1993.
The 2001 report Comprehensive Urban Environmental Renovation - The Fu & Nan Rivers Project by Mr. Shaoxiong Wang, Vice Mayor of Chengdu Municipality, tells an amazing story of how this plan [through flood prevention, pollution control, greening, housing, cultural and road/underground pipeline projects] has transformed the city and of the recognition it has received from national leaders and the international community. Chengdu, as a developing city in a developing country, has taken major steps to protect the environment and encourage sustainable development.