People collect trash from a river in Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/hz66.com]

Huzhou in East China's Zhejiang province has recently been conferred with the Dayu Cup for its remarkable achievements in water control over the past year.

This is the ninth consecutive time that Huzhou has been given the honor for its exceptional water control performance. Additionally, its administrative areas - Deqing county, Nanxun district, and Anji county - also received this prestigious recognition.

The Dayu Cup is regarded as the highest honor in Zhejiang province for outstanding achievements in water control. It derives its name from Dayu, a legendary ancient Chinese hero renowned for his exceptional skills in flood control, particularly for taming the Yellow River.

Huzhou has been making significant efforts to prioritize water control in recent years, with substantial progress made in terms of preventing water pollution and enhancing river quality.

The city has successfully ensured that all drinkable water resources at the county-level and higher meet stringent national standards.

Since 2021, a total of 2,839 high-consumption and low-efficiency enterprises have been rectified. Consequently, the value added per mu (0.06 hectares) by industrial enterprises above the designated size has increased from 716,000 yuan ($99,301) in 2018 to 1.87 million yuan in 2022.

In addition, local authorities have promoted household waste recycling initiatives. As a result, Huzhou secured the top ranking among cities in Zhejiang in the provincial assessment of household garbage sorting in 2022. This marks the fourth consecutive year that Huzhou has claimed the highest spot in the provincial assessment and the fifth year in a row that it has been rated as "excellent" in terms of garbage sorting in the province.