Cleanup campaign restores Yangtze River habitat

I'm happy to be one of the 'ant workers'

I used to work as an administrator, and when I retired in 2016, I began visiting the riverbank because a lot of retirees do physical exercises there.

I was curious when I saw groups of people－usually five or six at a time－picking up garbage on the riverbank. I was very impressed when I learned that they were volunteers rather than paid sanitation workers sent by the government.

The garbage stank, but they didn't seem to care. Moreover, they asked for no return, financial or reputational.

Some people said that what they were doing was trivial, but it's not easy to do this work long term.

I decided to join them. As far as I can recall, I have taken part in more than 300 voluntary operations since 2016, and I am happy with what we "ant workers" have brought about.

I also encouraged my immediate family, other relatives and friends to come along. I have spoken about voluntary service to almost everyone I know. I believe that as long as we all make an effort, the Yangtze will become cleaner day by day.

Li Jiafa spoke with Liu Kun and Li Lei.