It has been three years since President Xi Jinping hosted a top-level meeting in southwest China's Chongqing to promote the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

An outline of the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt was issued in March that year, highlighting China's long-term interests in the area.

The economic belt, covering 11 provinces and municipalities, accounts for over 40 percent of China's population and GDP.

The Yangtze River is hailed as China's mother river and promoting its development is a major strategic decision. Over the past three years, provinces and municipalities involved in the strategy have endorsed industrial transformation and upgrading while protecting the environment. The strategy has fundamentally changed the development of the region, with new growth drivers replacing old ones and new targets achieved.

Many provinces and cities along the river have altered their growth model to prioritize ecological preservation. Jingzhou City in central China's Hubei Province has cracked down on illegal sand mining by demolishing over 300 wharfs. The city has also carried out conservation projects recovering 22 lakes and increasing their area by 24 square km.

Ecological industries, such as bamboo, tea and tourism, have also been advanced, exemplified by Yibin City of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Hi-tech industries have also thrived in cities such as Shanghai and Chongqing.

(This is an edited excerpt of an article originally published in People's Daily on January 7)