China's northeastern region, consisting of the three provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, is a perennial heavy industrial base that played a central role in the country's economic lifeline since the founding of the People's Republic of China 55 years ago.

But the region has sunk to a low point largely due to exhaustion of natural resources, heavy taxation burdens and a money losing state sector. The Chinese government in 2003 decided to revitalize the Northeast into a new economic powerhouse.

Clusters of towering chimneys pumping out black smoke used to symbolize the thriving industrial output of Liaoning's old industrial cities. But today, they would only scare away visitors and investors. Fortunately, environmental protection now comes first in Liaoning.

Home to a large number of steel, metallurgy, mining and petrochemical factories, the province once suffered from very serious air and water pollution. This was especially true in its central part, particularly the provincial capital of Shenyang.

As a major heavy industry base, Shenyang has long had the reputation of being seriously polluted. This reached a peak in the 1990s, when Shenyang, with its more than 4,000 chimneys, was listed as one of the world's 10 most polluted cities.

However, that is the "before" picture. Director of the Shenyang Environmental Protection Bureau Chen Jianzhi says the city is now breathing fresh air and seeing clean rivers.

"Shenyang has improved its environment through industrial restructuring. Just take a walk to the Tiexi old industrial district, and one will see the changes. The industrial complex there, with rolling mills and paint factories, has been restructured or relocated," he said. 

So far, more than 500 of Shenyang's most polluting factories have been either shut down or relocated, and more than 2,000 of its 4,000 chimneys and over 800 boilers have been demolished. The city's mother river, the Hun River is green and clear once more.

The city has also installed a two million-dollar environment monitoring system that uses GPS to identify air quality and pollution sources. Director Chen Jianzhi says whoever harms the environment will be found out and punished.

These efforts are paying off: as the city's environment improves, more investors are arriving. Real estate and environmentally friendly industries have seen rocket growth. Fixed asset investment reached 58 billion yuan last year, a 44 percent increase year on year.

The environmental protection industry has become a new driving force for economic growth, with annual production value now reaching nearly 400 million yuan.

Source: CRI news