Editor's note: As protection of the planet's flora, fauna and resources becomes increasingly important, China Daily is publishing a series of stories to illustrate the country's commitment to safeguarding the natural world.

Amid the burble and gentle hum of the engine, at 7 am Captain Zhang Xinghua sets off in his riverboat on another daily voyage to clean the Yangtze River as it flows through the county of Wushan in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality.

Zhang, joined by a crew of two, navigates a stretch of the Yangtze in Wushan removing flotsam and jetsam from Asia's longest watercourse.

"The water quality here has significantly improved compared to when I first started this job in 2008," the 50-year-old said. "Back then, when we cleaned up garbage, we found all sorts of strange things, especially plastic bottles and garbage bags."

Zhang said that nowadays the main floating debris consists of straw, dead branches and weeds washed down from the mountains by the rain.

"On a beautiful day like today, it's not rare to see such clear water with little waste," he said, noting that this progress makes his work fulfilling and gives him a strong sense of accomplishment.

With the source of the Yangtze being on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at 5,250 meters, the huge elevation fall of the river — as it makes its way 6,300 kilometers east before emptying into the East China Sea — means that it picks up a lot of debris along the way.

Located at the eastern edge of Chongqing, Wushan, with its fleet of 36 debris cleaning riverboats, filters the Yangtze as it makes its way down to the Yangtze River Basin, an area where over a third of China's grain is grown.

Thanks to its debris cleaning efforts and other measures introduced to protect the Yangtze River, the water in Wushan has been ranked as Class II for the past eight years, leading to increased biodiversity and improved living quality for the local people.