Funan River is also known as the Jingjiang River. For some 2,000 years, the river has brought great economic benefits to Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province.
But industrial development and an increasing population had turned the river into a channel for sewage disposal. As harmful sediment piled up, the river became smelly and even ugly as few plants could grow on its banks.
Since 1993, the local government launched a campaign to give the Funan River a facelift. Lasting five years, the project involved some 2.7 billion yuan (US$326 million) of investment.
While the polluting enterprises nearby the river were moved away, 26 kilometers of sewage-disposing pipelines were laid to direct the dirty water away from the river and into the Sanwayao Sewage Disposal Factory.
The Funan River has now become a scenic spot of Chengdu. Since 1998, the site has won five international awards such as the Dubai International Award for Best Practices in Improving the Living Environment in 2000.
(China Daily November 7, 2002)
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