Saving China's Rivers to Save People's Health

Eleven years ago, Yun Jianli lost hearing in her left ear while helping villagers dig a well deep enough to reach clean drinking water.

She had seen people get their water from wells polluted by the nearby Tangbai River. Runaway pollution had turned the river foul and filthy, its toxins seeping into the village’s water supply. Knowing that drinking this kind of water can make people sick, Yun Jianli was so worried about the health of the villagers that she put her own at risk—missing a critical hospital appointment that could have saved her hearing.

Affectionately known as “Environmental Grandma” (环保奶奶), Yun Jianli first became passionate about cleaning up polluted rivers 17 years ago, when she found a childhood river in a similar condition as the Tangbai River: It was black and so stinky she had to hold her nose. At that moment she decided, “I need to do something, even if I can save only one river.”

Today she leads Green Hanjiang—the first environmental organization in Hubei province.
Believing that “everyone has a responsibility to protect the environment,” Yun Jianli has recruited 30,000 volunteers to patrol the Han River and its tributaries,
including the Tangbai River.

Her patrols have helped shut down over 50 industrial plants and animal farms that had been dumping dangerous wastewater into the Tangbai River. Her doggedness has paid off: Once too toxic for human contact, people can now fish and swim again in the river.

Yun Jianli has reached her goal and saved one river—but at 73 years old she is not slowing down. Her new goal is to make the entire Han River system safe enough for people to drink, fish, and swim.