Wild fish come back to the creek which once was polluted in Wuchikou village in Lishui. [Photo/lsnews.com.cn]

Wuchikou village is a poverty alleviation relocation village in Liandu district, Lishui, Zhejiang province. In 2005, nearly half of the villagers responded to national policy by moving from the remote mountains to a new village built along a creek.

The creek was once heavily polluted due to careless protection, but now it is a major source of income for surrounding villagers.

"In those days, everyone dumped their garbage in the creek," said Zhou Chunmei, an 85-year-old villager. She recalled that the creek stank every summer.

"It grieved us to see what the creek had become, and we wanted to restore it to its original appearance," said Zhang Jinhua, the village Party branch secretary. With the efforts of all Party members in the village, the creek finally became clean again.

At present, wild fish have come back to the creek, attracting many lovers of fishing. Fish caught by tourists are sold for 120 yuan ($17.25) per kilogram. With more and more tourists being drawn to the village, a local agritainment and homestay industry has gradually developed.

According to Zhang, in 2021, they will introduce a mineral water project based on the creek's high-quality water, making the best use of its ecological value.