Hami River restored in beautiful park project

In Hami city in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Du Jiangang walks every morning on a greenway in a park along the Hami River, which used to be a "mess".

Du, 61, a retiree from a local transportation company, said the river water was once dirty and surrounded by shabby houses.

"I used to exercise in a gym but now I would like to jog here for at least an hour every day. The river has become cleaner and the air quality here is better. I have shown the new park to many of my friends who came to Hami for the first time," he said.

In 2019, the city carried out a Hami River restoration project and renovated more than 10,000 shantytowns near the river, said Dong Sujian, deputy head of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau of Hami's Yizhou district.

"Those houses posed potential safety hazards and the environment along the river was dirty and in disarray. During the restoration, we preserved the original water system and plants and added green plants to restore the vitality of the mother river," he said.

In May, the park along the river section in urban areas was open to the public despite part of the project still being under construction.

Binhe Road along the Hami River was also finished and opened up to make urban transportation more convenient, he said.

By the end of this year, the project will be completed and the green coverage rate will increase from 18 percent to 78 percent. A 26-kilometer greenway for walking will be fully open to the public, Dong said.

The urban section of the Hami River restoration project covers about 250 hectares.

"We planned the urban area's river restoration as a short-term project. For the longer plan, the project will expand further to the north and south," he said.