“The natural spring water of Lishui City is as transparent and pure as glass, crystal clear to the bottom. In the ranking of urban water environment indices across 113 cities in 8 provinces, Lishui ranks 4th. Compared to other cities that are sources of ‘the Best Water in China’, Lishui’s urban water environment index surpasses most of those cities, with a distinct advantage in surface water quality." Recently, Sun Cong, head of the Water Quality Testing Section at the Lishui Hydrological Management Center, said in an interview with a reporter. In response to the recent widespread online discussions about the the scenery of ‘numerous water areas in Lishui boasting crystal-clear mountain spring water as pure as glass’, the Yangtze River Delta Institutes of Tsinghua University conducted research and investigations as early as five years ago, and issued an authoritative report.

“As early as 2019, the Yangtze River Delta Institutes of Tsinghua University conducted a comprehensive ‘check-up’ for high-quality water resources in Lishui City, and released a highly detailed research report, providing a scientific basis for the protection, development, and utilization of these water resources.” Sun Cong stated. The report conducted field surveys of water sources with superior quality, examining their geographic locations, scales and flow rates, hydrogeological conditions, transportation access, current development and utilization status, and upstream pollution conditions, while also assessing their development prospects and economic value.

This authoritative report, titled “Research Report on the Investigation and Development Plan of High-Quality Water Resources in Lishui City, Zhejiang Province”, selected 65 water sources with relatively superior quality across Lishui for investigation and analysis, and reached a convincing conclusion: “Based on the component analysis, the high-quality water resources in Lishui have low levels of hardness, sulfate, chloride ions, and other indicators. The natural water in Lishui originates from six major river water sources, boasting superior water quality characterized by low exogenous pollution, high transparency, low inorganic ion content, soft water quality, rich content of metasilicate, and good taste.” Sun Cong added, “Among these, the high degree of water transparency is one of the important evidences of low pollution in the water source areas.”

In this Research Report, the high-quality water resources in Lishui are compared with the surface water and drinking water sources nationwide and in Zhejiang Province, and their routine indicators far exceed the national and provincial average levels. Compared with the water quality of typical high-quality water sources nationwide, the routine indicators of Lishui’s high-quality water resources are superior, comparable to the water quality of Qiandao Lake. Compared with the tap water quality of typical cities nationwide, Lishui’s high-quality water resources are of better quality and taste than tap water in various cities.

“The high transparency of Lishui mountain spring water stems from Lishui’s top-tier water environmental protection measures. In 2023, Lishui achieved ‘four 100%s’ in terms of water quality compliance rates for state-controlled sections, provincial-controlled sections, drinking water sources at the county level and above, and intersectional sections. Beyond meeting national standards, Lishui has set higher goals for itself, achieving Class II or better water quality for all 17 state-controlled sections, with six of them reaching Class I water quality. Since 2019, when rankings began, Lishui has consistently ranked first in Zhejiang Province for water environmental quality for four consecutive years,” said a relevant official from the Lishui Ecological Environment Bureau. “The integrated protection and restoration project for mountains, rivers, forests, farmland, lakes, grasslands, and sand dunes in the source area of the Ou River in Zhejiang Province is a national pilot project, and systematic environmental governance projects such as water ecological protection and restoration have been carried out in 9 counties (cities, districts) of Lishui. The total investment for this project is 5.5 billion yuan, with 2 billion yuan in central government support. Years of continuous investment have effectively protected the water environmental security of the picturesque Lishui.”

Furthermore, Lishui City has taken the lead nationwide in integrating satellite remote sensing big data (“sky eye”), the Internet of Things for ecological sensing (“earth eye”), and law enforcement and supervision (“human eye”), forming a comprehensive smart governance application for the ecological environment known as “Sky Eye + Earth Eye + Human Eye”. This has comprehensively enhanced the collaborative monitoring, early warning, and response capabilities for the ecological environment of picturesque Lishui. Under such strict supervision, natural “glass water” has been preserved, allowing more people to experience its ecological charm firsthand.

“How can a stream be so clear and cool? For water comes fresh from the source,” said the relevant official from the Lishui Ecological Environment Bureau. Top-tier environmental protection is the “source of fresh water” for Lishui’s natural “glass water”. Only by protecting water sources can tourists enjoy the pristine environment of clear water spots, streams, waterfalls, and river rafting. This, in turn, will foster the prosperity of water-themed homestays in places such as Liaokeng Village in Jinyun County, the Ruoliao Primitive Forest Scenic Area in Songyang County, and Jincun Village in Qingtian County, attracting numerous guests to flock.

In the first half of this year, Lishui ranked third nationwide and first in the province for surface water quality. Wave your sleeves and leave no pollution behind. The clear mountain spring water of picturesque Lishui eagerly awaits more urban-dwelling “Xu Xiakes”(a renowned geographer and traveler from the Ming Dynasty who is famous for his extensive travels and detailed travel writings across China) to leave behind cherished memories of "fish glide in the limpid deep".