The 359-kilometer Xin'an River originates at the Yellow Mountain, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in East China's Anhui province, and extends eastwards to the west of Zhejiang province. Its trajectory has great economic and ecological impacts on both places.

In 2011, a cross-provincial ecological preservation mechanism was put in place. From then onwards, Anhui, which lies upstream, has heavily invested and put great efforts towards improving the water quality of the upper reaches and surrounding environment.

Eight years on, the water quality of the She county section of Xin'an River, Anhui's Huangshan city, has been improved to and kept at Grade II, the second-highest level in China's five-tier water quality system, meaning it can be used as a drinking water source.

Wonderful scenes line the She county reach of Xin'an River.