YAN Tianwen (3^rd R), director of the Hubei Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, toured IHB's Guanqiao Campus and Liangzi Lake R&D Center, inspecting research and operations at both sites. (Credit: IHB)

The director of Hubei Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment visited the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on Sept. 22, 2026 for a research visit focused on aquatic ecological protection and the application of research results in key lake protection projects.

YAN Tianwen, director of the Hubei Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, toured IHB's Guanqiao Campus and Liangzi Lake R&D Center, inspecting research and operations at both sites. Yan was accompanied by IHB director MIAO Wei, deputy directors XIE Shouqi and XU Jun.

At Guanqiao Campus, the team visited the Yangtze Cetacean Breeding and Conservation Center, the Goldfish Exhibition and the Center for Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in Aquatic Life Sciences. At Liangzi Lake R&D Center, they inspected the algae research area, the research and verification platform for wetland and aquatic ecological restoration technologies of the National Engineering Laboratory for Lake Pollution Control and Ecological Restoration, and a biodiversity ditch-pond system coupled with an intensive aquaculture tailwater treatment facility.

Researchers briefed the visitors on Yangtze finless porpoise breeding and conservation, coordinated conservation of aquatic biodiversity and carbon sink potential, and innovation in water environmental protection technology and theory. They also presented work on research team breakthroughs, the development and application of water ecological protection and governance technologies, and watershed pollution control and ecological restoration.

Yan praised IHB's expertise and achievements in aquatic environmental and ecological protection. He called for stronger government-research cooperation and for IHB to leverage its strengths in aquatic ecological monitoring, ecological restoration and biodiversity conservation.

He also urged the institute to help translate ecological resources into practical use and to ensure its technologies are applied in key lake protection projects across Hubei, including Liangzi Lake and Honghu Lake, a push aimed at supporting lake restoration in a province known as the "Province of a Thousand Lakes."