Cleanup team in China’s Chongqing ensures safe, clean water for the downstream of the Yangtze River
Wire desk byline Sourced from Xinhua, Dawn, Arab News, Anadolu and Minute Mirror. Translated and abridged by the GSRRA Desk.
A member of the cleanup team manually bails out floating objects from the river in Wushan County, southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, May 29, 2026. A large number of floating objects, such as branches and debris are washed down from the upstream of the Yangtze River into the Three Gorges Reservoir area during the flood season and water storage period every year. If not cleaned up in time, they would affect the waterway operation in addition to hazards to the water quality of the reservoir.
Wushan County, located in the reservoir area, set up a cleanup team in 2003 to deal with the problem. Nowadays, the team is operating with 50 staff members, more than 10 mechanized trash-collection ships, and large transfer ships. They are exerting all efforts to ensure safe and clean water for the downstream areas. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)
Members of the cleanup team transfer bailed-out floating objects from a ship to a trash truck in Wushan County, southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, May 29, 2026. A large number of floating objects such as branches and debris are washed down from the upstream of the Yangtze River into the Three Gorges Reservoir area during the flood season and water storage period every year. If not cleaned up in time, they would affect the waterway operation in addition to hazards to the water quality of the reservoir.
Wushan County located in the reservoir area set up a cleanup team in 2003 to deal with the problem. Nowadays, the team is operating with 50 staff members, more than 10 mechanized trash-collection ships and large transfer ships. They are exerting all efforts to ensure safe and clean water for the downstream areas. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)
An aerial drone photo taken on May 29, 2026 shows a mechanized trash-collection ship conducting cleanup operation in Wushan County, southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality. A large number of floating objects such as branches and debris are washed down from the upstream of the Yangtze River into the Three Gorges Reservoir area during the flood season and water storage period every year. If not cleaned up in time, they would affect the waterway operation in addition to hazards to the water quality of the reservoir.
Wushan County located in the reservoir area set up a cleanup team in 2003 to deal with the problem. Nowadays, the team is operating with 50 staff members, more than 10 mechanized trash-collection ships and large transfer ships. They are exerting all efforts to ensure safe and clean water for the downstream areas. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)
This photo, taken on May 29, 2026, shows floating objects bailed out by a mechanized trash-collection ship in Wushan County, southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality. A large number of floating objects, such as branches and debris are washed down from the upstream of the Yangtze River into the Three Gorges Reservoir area during the flood season and water storage period every year. If not cleaned up in time, they would affect the waterway operation in addition to hazards to the water quality of the reservoir.
Wushan County, located in the reservoir area set up a cleanup team in 2003 to deal with the problem. Nowadays, the team is operating with 50 staff members, more than 10 mechanized trash-collection ships and large transfer ships. They are exerting all efforts to ensure safe and clean water for the downstream areas. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)
Members of the cleanup team manually bail out floating objects from the river in Wushan County, southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, May 29, 2026. A large number of floating objects such as branches and debris, are washed down from the upstream of the Yangtze River into the Three Gorges Reservoir area during the flood season and water storage period every year. If not cleaned up in time, they would affect the waterway operation in addition to posing hazards to the water quality of the reservoir.
Wushan County located in the reservoir area set up a cleanup team in 2003 to deal with the problem. Nowadays, the team is operating with 50 staff members, more than 10 mechanized trash-collection ships and large transfer ships. They are exerting all efforts to ensure safe and clean water for the downstream areas. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)
An aerial drone photo taken on May 29, 2026 shows a mechanized trash-collection ship conducting cleanup operation in Wushan County, southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality. A large number of floating objects such as branches and debris are washed down from the upstream of the Yangtze River into the Three Gorges Reservoir area during the flood season and water storage period every year. If not cleaned up in time, they would affect the waterway operation in addition to hazards to the water quality of the reservoir.
Wushan County located in the reservoir area set up a cleanup team in 2003 to deal with the problem. Nowadays, the team is operating with 50 staff members, more than 10 mechanized trash-collection ships and large transfer ships. They are exerting all efforts to ensure safe and clean water for the downstream areas. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)
An aerial drone photo taken on May 29, 2026, shows a mechanized trash-collection ship conducting a cleanup operation in Wushan County, southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality. A large number of floating objects, such as branches and debris, are washed down from the upstream of the Yangtze River into the Three Gorges Reservoir area during the flood season and water storage period every year. If not cleaned up in time, they would affect the waterway operation in addition to posing hazards to the water quality of the reservoir.
Wushan County, located in the reservoir area, set up a cleanup team in 2003 to deal with the problem. Nowadays, the team is operating with 50 staff members, more than 10 mechanized trash-collection ships, and large transfer ships. They are exerting all efforts to ensure safe and clean water for the downstream areas. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)
A member of the cleanup team monitors the river and banks through surveillance cameras in Wushan County, southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, May 29, 2026. A large number of floating objects, such as branches and debris, are washed down from the upstream of the Yangtze River into the Three Gorges Reservoir area during the flood season and water storage period every year. If not cleaned up in time, they would affect the waterway operation in addition to posing hazards to the water quality of the reservoir.
Wushan County, located in the reservoir area, set up a cleanup team in 2003 to deal with the problem. Nowadays, the team is operating with 50 staff members, more than 10 mechanized trash-collection ships, and large transfer ships. They are exerting all efforts to ensure safe and clean water for the downstream areas. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)
Reference Link:- https://english.news.cn/20260530/c52490341b1a4c97b1a3c2225b9d4efa/c.html
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
