Tianshan Net/Xinjiang Daily reporter Li Xing
In summer, the waterfront landscape of Urumqi City is verdant with trees, and in a piece of green, the clear river meanders down. The breeze by the river brings a hint of coolness, making people forget to return and indulge in it.
With a total length of 27.2 kilometers, the Shuimo River is the only four-season river in Urumqi, and its continuous murmuring water throughout the year not only provides an ecological water vein for this water-scarce city, but also adds a touch of aura to it.
In 2024, Shuimohe was selected as one of the first batch of "Typical Cases of Ecological and Environmental Protection in Beautiful Xinjiang· Autonomous Region".
The landscape is pleasant and the tourists are happy
At 11 o'clock on July 20, the sun was just right. Li Fengxia, a retired worker, made an appointment with her old sister Li Wenying, wearing a sunhat and carrying a kettle, to play along the river in the waterside landscape belt not far away.
There are wooden plank paths, fitness trails, gazebos, and fitness equipment on the riverbank, and the two sisters are walking leisurely, chatting about family life while enjoying the morning sunshine. When you get tired of walking, you sit on a chair in the shade and rest for a while.
The meandering Shuimo River has accompanied Li Fengxia for most of her life, and she has witnessed the changes of the river at her doorstep.
"In the earliest days, the river was clear, and when I was a child, I often rolled up my trouser legs with my friends and went into the water to catch pike; Then the water became muddy and became a stinking ditch, no one went down to the river, and the fish were gone. In the past few years, after treatment, the river water has been cleared again. Nowadays, the river is getting clearer and clearer, the environment is getting more and more beautiful, and the days are getting better and better! Li Fengxia said.
The Shuimo River Landscape Renovation Project is a vivid case of Urumqi City building a green mountain, clear water, and ecological livable city in recent years.
Since 2012, in accordance with the work deployment of "water entering the city and turning the land green", Urumqi has continued to start from the transformation of the ecological environment and the improvement of the landscape effect, actively promoted the ecological environment management of the Shuimo River Basin, and successively launched the four phases of the landscape transformation project to achieve "zero discharge" of sewage in the whole river basin.
On July 20, residents around the Shuimo River played with their children on the shore. Photo by Shi Jiuyun/Xinjiang Daily reporter Li Xing
Nowadays, the upgraded and renovated Shuimo River Basin has formed an urban waterfront public green space led by the symbiosis of nature and city, the integration of history and culture, and the leadership of green and health. From the Beishan Bridge in the south, north to the north of Kashgar East Road and the junction of Midong District, the Shuimo River (Shuimogou section) landscape renovation project has been fully completed, 13 kilometers of green slow traffic system, forming a "one river, five districts, 24 scenes" landscape style, of which from south to north 5 sections are Ink Impression, Landscape Biwan, R&F Commercial Street, Zhen'an Huaxi, Golden Autumn Warmth, each section has its own characteristics.
"In the slow traffic system on both sides of the river, there are various service stations." The relevant person in charge of the Shuimogou District Garden Bureau said that during the construction of the Shuimohe River Basin Landscape Belt, public facilities such as party and mass service stations, mass fitness activity venues, and cultural bookstores were implanted for the people and convenience to serve citizens and tourists in an all-round way.
Cao Baowen, a resident of the community near the Shuimo River, will go for a walk on the riverside slow trail after dinner every day. "In the past, the river was narrow and overgrown with weeds, and people threw garbage and sewage into the river from time to time. Now, all seasons of the year are different, and every season is beautiful. Cao Baowen said with emotion.
In addition to the Shuimogou section, Urumqi also strives to build both sides of Shuilong Bay with the two banks of Shuimo River and Laolong River as the core, and build a green waterfront ecological belt, a humanistic waterfront economic bay, and a modern poetic habitat with a regional functional structure of "one vein, four districts, and multiple centers".
The river is clear and the birds love it
On July 20th, on the weekend, Li Xinchang, who lives in Tianshan District, went to the riverside landscape with his friends. What surprised him was that he hadn't been here for a long time, but this place had changed a lot. "Once in a few years, it was overgrown with weeds and livestock manure everywhere, and I had a very bad impression." This time, the water of the Shuimo River is clear, the trees on both sides of the river are verdant, the flowers are clustered, and wild ducks can be seen everywhere on the water, which really amazes him.
Indeed, today's Shuimo River has changed.
On July 20, wild ducks roosted in the Shuimo River. Photo by Shi Jiuyun/Xinjiang Daily reporter Li Xing
From "governing a section" to "governing the whole region", from "individual advance" to overall promotion, all-round governance has brought about all-round improvements. With the continuous promotion of the four measures of "relocation, acceptance, reform and management" by the governments of Wushi City and Shuimogou District, the ecological environment management of the Shuimo River Basin has achieved remarkable results, and the water quality of the Shuimo River has been significantly improved.
After the renovation, the surface of the Shuimo River has been widened by 12 meters to 80 meters, the water area has increased from less than 100 acres to about 200 acres, and 1,168 acres of green space have been added along the river. The data show that the water quality of the three sections of the Shuimo River Basin (Shuimogou section) has been improved from Class IV to Class III and above, among which the section of the Spring of the Shuimo River Enamel Factory can meet or exceed the Class II standard, there are aquatic plants growing at the bottom of the river in all seasons, fish and shrimp are in groups, and the water quality monitoring results of the Qifang Bridge section and Lianfeng Bridge section are stable or better than the Class III water quality, which can meet the requirements of downstream agricultural irrigation water and general landscape.
"The increasing number of wild ducks inhabiting the Shuimo River shows that there is plenty of food, improved water quality and the environment, creating conditions for their survival." Ma Ming, a researcher at the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and an expert on birds, said that wild birds are very sensitive to environmental changes and act as indicator species in the natural environment. The increasing number of birds visiting is enough to show that the water quality and environment of Urumqi rivers and lakes have improved significantly.
Centered on the Shuimo River, the riverside landscape attracts flocks of migratory birds to settle here.
The water mill river flows all year round and does not freeze in winter, making it the best wintering ground for wild ducks and other birds. Today, the Shuimo River is a common home for birds and the people living along the river.
Establish a mechanism to jointly protect it
On the morning of July 24, as usual, Xia Qiang, a river patrol from the Hot Spring North Community of Shuimogou Street, came to the Shuimo River to clean up garbage and inspect the river, and at the same time, inspect whether anyone crossed the fence to play in the river.
On July 24, Xia Qiang, a river ranger from the Hot Spring North Community of Shuimogou Street, Shuimogou District, Wushi, patrolled the river by the Shuimohe River and salvaged the garbage in the river. Photo by Shi Jiuyun/Xinjiang Daily reporter Li Xing
"Scoop up garbage, check sewage, from the water to the shore, and don't let go of any corner." Check whether there is sewage and dumping garbage in the river, and check whether the river is blocked...... After the river patrol, Xia Qiang opened the "River Changtong" APP on his mobile phone and uploaded the river patrol situation of the day.
The section of the Shuimo River that Xia Qiang is responsible for is 2.2 kilometers long from the branch lanes along the river road in the south to the Zimeiya Community in the north of the hot spring north community. Since joining the work, Xia Qiang has lived by the Shuimo River and witnessed the changes here - cleaning up and rectifying the indiscriminate occupation, indiscriminate mining, indiscriminate piling, and indiscriminate construction, carrying out comprehensive environmental improvement, creating a riverside landscape belt, and the Shuimo River has slowly become a beautiful landscape.
With the comprehensive and in-depth implementation of the river and lake chief system, Urumqi has comprehensively established a four-level river and lake chief system at the city, district (county), management committee (township, street), and community (village) levels.
"Shuimogou District has established a three-level river chief system, with 8 district-level river chiefs, 23 street-level river chiefs, and 31 community (village) level river chiefs, who are responsible for the protection of water resources of Shuimohe River, the management of water shorelines, the prevention and control of water pollution, and the treatment of water environment." Cui Jinglin, director of the River and Lake Management Center of Shuimogou District, said that the district level is inspected once a month, the street level is inspected twice a month, and the community (village) level is inspected twice a week. If garbage and floating objects are found during river patrols, community sanitation personnel will be directly notified to clean up, and if illegal construction, random mining, and random occupation are found to have a great impact on the river, they will be reported level by level and coordinated with relevant functional departments to deal with them.
A 24-hour real-time monitoring station has also been set up in the upper reaches of the Shuimo River to monitor the water quality at all times, and once the water quality changes in a certain place, an alarm will be displayed immediately.
Maintaining the cleanliness of the river environment is the common responsibility of residents and units in the communities along the river. "In the first half of this year, Shuimogou District has carried out many special actions to clean up rivers and lakes, construction departments, streets dispatched excavators, transport machinery trailers, community cadres, river patrollers and volunteers to clean up river garbage." Cui Jinglin said.
An Guoqing, who grew up by the Shuimo River, will pick up garbage spontaneously when he sees it by the river. "There is such a good environment at the doorstep, which is not easy to come by, and we must cherish and love it."