Qixi, connecting the south and north, plays an important role in building a new development pattern. In March 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over a symposium on promoting the rise of the central region in the new era, emphasizing the need to strengthen integration and linkage with the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, ecological protection of the Yellow River Basin, and high-quality development. As the rivers serve as evidence, the six provinces in central China have jointly taken great care of protection, promoted great governance, and sought new development. A high-quality development picture of clear water, green banks, innovative openness, and prosperous cultural heritage is slowly unfolding. Mother River is revitalized and full of vitality. In the autumn evening, the cool breeze brings a refreshing feeling. At the Swan Lake National Urban Wetland Park in Sanmenxia, the grass and trees sway and the water birds dance gracefully. Sanmenxia is located at the "first stop" of the Yellow River entering the Central Plains. It has the XiaoQinling National Nature Reserve and multiple first level tributaries of the Yellow River, making it an important ecological barrier in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. At the same time, this place is rich in mineral resources and is the second largest gold producing area in the country. While mining brings economic benefits, it has also eroded mountains and polluted rivers at one point. More than 20 years ago, Swan Lake was a stinky ditch, a barren grassland, with a foul odor and sewage flowing everywhere Gao Ruyi, the director of the Bird Ring Station at the Swan Lake National Urban Wetland Park in Sanmenxia, said, "When people come here, they have to cover their noses and pass by." In recent years, with the joint efforts to protect and promote the Yellow River Basin, an ecological governance battle has begun. Faced with the frequent ecological "red lights", the brave warriors of Sanmenxia have cut their wrists and shut down more than 1500 mine entrances, covering more than 120000 acres of mines with soil and greenery, and constructing and using 240 kilometers of ecological corridors. At the same time, we will implement the Green Manufacturing Upgrade Action, vigorously develop the circular economy, and ensure that 18 tributaries of the Yellow River receive clean water. Birds are the 'barometer' of wetland ecology. Tens of thousands of swans come to Sanmenxia for winter, and the 'city of mines' has become the' city of swans' Gao Ruyi said that the number of wild bird species inhabiting the Yellow River wetland in Sanmenxia has increased from 175 20 years ago to 315 today, including 11 national first-class protected bird species such as black storks and white headed cranes. The changes in Sanmenxia are a microcosm of the significant achievements in ecological governance in the central region. The six provinces in central China have crisscrossing waterways, overlapping mountains, and scattered lakes, making them "ecological priority areas" in China. Ecological protection in the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins is of utmost importance. General Secretary Xi Jinping called for a sustained and in-depth battle against pollution prevention and control, strengthening the governance, comprehensive management, and coordinated management of ecological environment systems in major rivers and important lakes, and accelerating the filling of the gaps in urban domestic sewage collection and treatment facilities. Along the banks of the Yellow River, efforts have been made to clean up and control pollution, conserve water sources, protect soil and water by planting green plants in mines, regulate water and sand, and control sedimentation. Ecological flow control has been strengthened, and all 20 major control sections of 10 key rivers in the basin have met ecological flow standards. In 2022, the entire main stream of the Yellow River will reach Class II water quality for the first time. Along the Yangtze River, chemical enterprises have relocated to control pollution, the "ten-year fishing ban" has been solidly promoted, and green docks have protected the ecology. Since 2020, the water quality of the main stream of the Yangtze River has remained at Class II for several consecutive years, and the proportion of excellent Class III water quality sections in the basin has increased from 81.8% in 2015 to 98.5% in 2023. The river is blue and the water is clear. The mother river, full of vitality and vigor, rushes and leaps eastward. Wuhan, on the banks of the Yangtze River, is the headquarters of Lantu Automobile, a "new strength in car manufacturing," for high-quality development and daring to explore new paths; Zhengzhou on the banks of the Yellow River is a key consumer city for Lantu Motors. Although they are 500 kilometers apart, Zhengzhou consumers can select a car through the mobile app, from placing an order to picking up the car, in as little as 3 days. The convenient consumer experience benefits from the "smart" automotive production line. Lantu Automotive Assembly Workshop has an intelligent production line that simultaneously mixes three models. Every three minutes, a new car is produced, with different colors, interiors, and configurations. This is the charm of flexible and intelligent production Lantu Automotive CEO Lu Fang said that every car has a "digital ID card", and the machine can scan the digital information and then grab the parts for assembly. With one production line, it can achieve mixed production, thousands of vehicles, thousands of samples, and fast delivery. Lantu Automobile's flexible production line is just a "scenery" of Wuhan's "China Auto Valley". Currently, the "China Auto Valley" has gathered 9 whole vehicle enterprises and more than 1200 automotive parts enterprises. Nevertheless, the exploration of the forefront of the "China Auto Valley" industry has never stopped. In the face of the global wave of transformation and upgrading in the automotive industry, we are focusing on three major directions: intelligent connected vehicles, software defined vehicles, and new energy vehicles, and striving to create a demonstration zone for the development of the entire new energy vehicle industry chain. General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over a symposium on promoting the rise of the central region in the new era, emphasizing that based on the foundation of the real economy, we should expand and strengthen advanced manufacturing industries, actively promote new industrialization, transform and enhance traditional industries, cultivate and strengthen emerging industries, advance the layout and construction of future industries, and accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system supported by advanced manufacturing industries. The total economic output of the six central provinces accounts for about one-fifth of the country's total, and they play a crucial role in the national economic map. The key to embarking on a high-quality development path from "new" to "green" lies in accelerating the transformation of the economic development mode and the transition from old to new driving forces. Amidst the surging tide, thousands of sails compete. Since the 14th Five Year Plan, the industrial layout in the central region has been optimized and adjusted, and the food, textile, and coal industries on both sides of the Yellow River and in Henan and Shanxi provinces have developed towards energy conservation and digitization; Across the country, industries such as Jiangxi Nonferrous Metals, Hunan Metallurgy, Hubei Chemical Building Materials, and Anhui Iron and Steel Nonferrous are transforming towards intelligence and greenness. At the same time, industrial clusters such as heavy industry in Hunan, aviation in Jiangxi, automobiles in Anhui, new energy in Shanxi, and new materials in Henan are rapidly developing. National advanced manufacturing clusters such as Zhuzhou Rail Transit Equipment, Changsha Engineering Machinery, Wuhan Optoelectronics Information, and Ganzhou Rare Earth New Materials and Applications are emerging. Furthermore, the Jianghan Plain has created the "China Optics Valley" in Wuhan, the "China Sound Valley" in Hefei for the rise of the Jianghuai region, and the first-class "Seed Valley" in Changsha for the construction of the Sanxiang region. A number of regional innovation sources have injected strong momentum into the rise of the central region. Data shows that the added value of manufacturing in the central region has increased from 6.1 trillion yuan in 2019 to 6.8 trillion yuan in 2023, accounting for about one-fifth of the national total. The national strategic emerging industry clusters and advanced manufacturing industry clusters in the central region account for 27.3% and 17.8% of the national total, respectively. Rivers have a long history and a long way to go for development. One after another, green transformation and innovation driven development are accumulating momentum. Standing next to the mound of the tomb of Xu Xianxiu, King Wu'an of Northern Qi in Taiyuan, wearing VR glasses, the magnificent tomb chamber murals are clearly visible. There are more than 200 painted figures, horses, divine beasts, as well as various ceremonial rites, weapons, and musical instruments. More than 1400 years ago, the distinguished dignity and life scenes of the Northern Qi nobles are presented before our eyes. The tomb of Xu Xianxiu preserves over 330 square meters of murals, making it the best preserved mural tomb from the Northern and Southern Dynasties period to date. It was named one of the top ten archaeological discoveries in China in 2002. For over 20 years, due to the requirement of constant temperature and humidity enclosure protection, visitors have been unable to step into the tomb chamber to visit the murals. Nowadays, technology empowers cultural relics to be "vivid and touchable" - the Taiyuan Northern Qi Mural Museum, built on the tomb of Xu Xianxiu, allows visitors to enjoy the murals in person through virtual technology. The Shanxi province where Xu Xianxiu's tomb is located has over 50000 immovable cultural relics, including 531 national key cultural relics protection units, ranking first in the country in terms of quantity. Since 2014, Shanxi has launched a province wide digital protection project for cultural relics. So far, it has implemented digital protection for 145 key cultural relics protection units such as Yungang Grottoes, Foguang Temple, and Yongle Palace, as well as precious cultural relics collected by 21 museums. A preliminary digital information resource library for key cultural relics has been established. Revitalizing and utilizing cultural relics, allowing more people to come into contact with, be interested in, understand, and draw nourishment from them Wang Jiang, the director of the Northern Qi Mural Museum at Taiyuan Cultural Relics Protection Research Institute, said that through technological means and creative operation, cultural relics can be brought to life, showcasing the vigorous vitality and powerful creativity of Chinese civilization. The central region spanning the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins is an important area for the origin of Chinese civilization, with abundant cultural relics and rich historical and cultural heritage. The ancient oracle bone inscriptions, rice paddies dating back over 6000 years, and the largest ancient copper mine site are interconnected to form the footprints of civilization scattered along the banks of rivers. In January 2016, General Secretary Xi Jinping held a symposium in Chongqing to promote the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, emphasizing that both the Yangtze River and the Yellow River are the birthplaces and cradles of the Chinese nation. The water veins connect the cultural context, and the rivers nourish for thousands of years. Strengthening the protection, inheritance, and promotion of the cultural heritage of the two major river basins is the only way to continue the historical context and strengthen cultural confidence. In the Central Plains, the area with the highest concentration of major archaeological sites in China, Henan has achieved remarkable results in the protection of major sites and the construction of archaeological site parks. As of now, Henan has built 15 open site museums and 7 national archaeological site parks, making site parks and museums popular "check-in spots". In the land of Sanxiang, there are 269 historical and cultural cities, towns, villages, 53 historical and cultural blocks, and 2590 historical buildings scattered all over. Hunan attaches great importance to the protection of historical and cultural heritage in urban planning, and strives to build a unique urban and rural historical and cultural protection and inheritance system with Hunan characteristics. The land of Ganpo is rich in intangible cultural heritage resources, with three national level cultural and ecological protection (experimental) zones including Jingdezhen Ceramic Cultural and Ecological Protection Experimental Zone, and three provincial-level cultural and ecological protection experimental zones including Luling Culture. Jiangxi has initially formed a government led, socially participated, and distinctive cultural and ecological resource protection and utilization model. The rolling river flows day and night, with a thousand year cultural heritage spanning ancient and modern times. The Yangtze River and Yellow River embody the common memory of the Chinese nation, protecting, inheriting, and promoting the culture of "river" and "river". The central region is vividly answering this issue of the times. (New Society)