The appealing river scenery in Gaogang district. [Photo/WeChat account: weigg6666]
Gaogang district, also known as the Taizhou Medical High-tech Zone, in Taizhou city of East China's Jiangsu province ranked first in the province in 2022 for its good practice in the long-term rural river channel management.
To innovate its river management methods, the zone has adopted a river governor system that requires senior officials to take full responsibility for individual rivers.
At present, there are two chief river governors, 17 district-level river governors, and 297 town or village-level river governors.
For example, the 297 town and village-level governors have helped solve over 2,000 problems, such as direct sewage discharge and black and odorous water bodies.
Moreover, the zone has invested over 1.1 billion yuan ($150.34 million) into constructing 106 felicific rivers and lakes. Felicific relates to the promotion of increased happiness.
In terms of policies, the zone has released policies to improve efforts in river management and stability. They also promote the linkage mechanism among related responsible parties.