As the Yangtze River flows through its final stretch in Hubei province, it slows and deposits sediment, forming the ancient town of Xiaochi in Huangmei County. This area, historically known as the "Leichi" boundary from the proverb about not overstepping it, now faces a modern ecological imperative.
"Chemical oxygen demand 47, total phosphorus 0.4, total nitrogen 11, pH 7—all within standards," said Wu Lingmin, a lab technician at the Xiaochi Town wastewater treatment plant, at 8 a.m. on July 3. Outside the main discharge outlet, clear water silently merges with the Yangtze. Across the river, visitors stroll along the bank, and finless porpoises occasionally break the surface—a scene unimaginable a decade ago.
Back then, Xiaochi had no treatment plants, with wastewater from riverside industries and residents flowing directly into the river. Over the past ten years, three 10,000-ton capacity treatment plants have been built. Several enterprises, including Lianxing Chemical, were shut down, relocated, or transformed, 13 private wharves were dismantled, and a riverside park was developed. The ancient warning about not crossing the Leichi boundary has evolved into an inviolable "ecological red line." The water quality in Xiaochi's section of the river is a direct reflection of conditions along Hubei's entire stretch of the Yangtze mainstream, which has maintained Class II quality for seven consecutive years.
Transformation from "Soy Sauce" to "Mineral Water"
At the Xiaochi Town domestic sewage treatment plant, oleanders bloom along the fence. Wastewater passes through screens, grit chambers, and biological tanks, emerging crystal clear from the outlet. Constructed in 2014 and operational by 2016, this plant treats 10,000 tons daily and was the first in Huanggang's townships to meet the stringent Grade 1A discharge standard. Plant manager Sun Fengliang described the process: "The incoming sewage is like dark soy sauce; the outgoing water is like mineral spring water." The secret lies in the MBR membrane technology, which is compact and produces stable, high-quality effluent.
A decade ago, the scene was different. With no treatment plant, the Donggang waterway crossing the town served as an open sewer. "Water hyacinths grew so thick you couldn't see the water," recalled Wang Pei, deputy general manager of Xiaochi Qingquan Water Supply and Drainage Company. Factories operated day and night along the river, garbage littered the wharves, and the air carried strange odors.
A turning point came in 2016 with the formal proposal of the "Yangtze River Protection" initiative. Xiaochi shut down multiple chemical plants, banned scattered, disorderly wharves, dredged and renovated six waterways, laid over 60 kilometers of sewage pipes, and saw its first wastewater plant begin operations.
Now, Sun Fengliang stands at the plant, pointing towards Donggang: "Listen, that's the sound of villagers racing dragon boats!" Further along the river, the clean and green riverside park is popular with visitors. Resident Wang Manqing noted that everyone loves to stroll there in the evenings, enjoying the river breeze and scenery.
Breaking the Development Bottleneck
When the first plant opened, the industrial park had few enterprises, and domestic sewage was predominant; the limited industrial wastewater could be co-treated. However, Xiaochi's development accelerated faster than expected. Since its opening and development were elevated to a provincial strategy, the scale of industrial output has grown at an average annual rate of 30%, with enterprises in the port-side industrial park increasing from 30-40 to over 100.
Kanghong, an aquatic product deep-processing enterprise that settled in 2018, is a major water user, producing up to 500 tons of wastewater daily. Companies like Fuyida and Yinuorui followed, causing park wastewater volumes to soar. The original process designed for domestic sewage couldn't handle the corrosiveness and salinity of industrial effluent, becoming a bottleneck for development. "An ordinary cast-iron pump would corrode quickly," Sun Fengliang explained. "Industrial wastewater required a separate solution."
In 2022, Xiaochi Town decided to build a dedicated industrial wastewater treatment plant. Within a year, the 120-million-yuan Xiaochi Binjiang New District Wastewater Treatment Plant was completed. Key equipment uses 316 stainless steel, nearly ten times more expensive than standard cast iron, with a daily capacity of 10,000 tons. In the control center, a smart screen tracks every drop of wastewater's journey from murky to clear. Manager Zhang Yingmao detailed the process: wastewater enters a buffer tank from the park's network, then undergoes two-stage ozone catalytic oxidation, biological treatment, efficient sedimentation, and denitrification filtration.
Protecting the River by Saying "No" to Major Projects
A more significant choice emerged in the investment attraction phase. Wang Dabian of the Xiaochi Town Investment Bureau maintains a special list: 20 to 30 companies barred due to environmental concerns, with cumulative intended investment nearing 10 billion yuan.
In early 2023, a lithium carbonate processing company expressed interest in settling in Xiaochi. The offer—2 billion yuan in investment, 4 billion yuan in annual output value, and over 100 million yuan in tax revenue—could have reshaped the local economy. The investment team conducted on-site inspections in a neighboring province and held repeated discussions with environmental authorities for nearly a year. Ultimately, they declined the offer. "Xiaochi had the capacity to host it," Wang Dabian said, "but considering the production process involves acid, which is highly polluting, we reluctantly gave it up to protect the Yangtze."
Protecting the Yangtze doesn't mean rejecting development but achieving high-quality growth under ecological constraints. In Xiaochi's Jiangbei Industrial Park, construction is underway for the Central China Green Printing and Dyeing Industrial Base. Major projects like Shengmei Textile and Zhuoda Dyeing and Finishing, each worth billions, are nearing completion of their main structures.
Infrastructure precedes industry. The wastewater treatment plant was the first project built in the park, scheduled for operation by the end of August. It will be operated by Shaoxing Keqiao Water Group, the largest dyeing wastewater treatment operator in China. "Dyeing enterprises use vast amounts of water and are best located by the river, but their wastewater is more challenging to treat than standard industrial effluent," explained Luo Can, a technical advisor from Keqiao Water Group. "To pass environmental checks, wastewater treatment must be solved first." The plant employs advanced domestic two-stage ozone, biological, and membrane deep treatment technology, capable of treating 45,000 tons of dyeing wastewater daily, supporting an annual output value of 7 billion yuan. A second phase is planned to accommodate future industrial expansion.
For a small town to possess three 10,000-ton capacity wastewater treatment plants is rare along the Yangtze. The river flows endlessly, and the work of water management continues. The clear eastward flow of the Yangtze is this ancient town's answer after a decade of effort.
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