The Yellow River, one of the most important ecological barriers and economic zones in China, has seen remarkable improvements in its ecological environment.

Malai county of Northwest China's Qinghai province is located at the river's source. The local government has hired over 5,000 herdsmen as ecological managers to jointly protect the environment and has invited full-time ecological instructors to offer regular courses to those ecological managers and primary and middle school students.

"The courses include how to protect wild animals, ecological environment and water resources, as well as waste sorting," said Dawa, a full-time instructor on ecological conservation.

Gannan Tibetan autonomous prefecture is an important water conservation area located in China's northwestern Gansu province, where natural grassland has covered over 96 percent of the land as of the end of 2019.

"Herdsmen are all environmentally conscious now, and they would pick up such garbage as plastic bottles whenever seen on the pasture," said Phuntsok Tashi, a local villager.

Nine provincial-level regions along the river are making joint efforts to promote its ecological protection.

"In the headwater area of the Yellow River, we give priority to protection to restore its water conservation function. In the Loess Plateau Region in the river's upper and middle reaches, we mainly focus on reducing sand sediment and harnessing water loss and soil erosion. In the estuary wetland in the lower reaches, we make efforts to prevent ecological degradation and improve biodiversity through ecological replenishment," said Niu Yuguo, deputy director of the Yellow River Conservancy Commission.