On June 25th, Beijing Yanqing Farm, "environmentally friendly grandma" He Yufeng was picking up garbage on the banks of the river. This edition of photography / Beijing News reporter Zheng Xinqia
He Yufeng sorted the garbage he picked up and dumped it in the trash can in front of his house.
An angler in the riverside of Xiaoshuitun Village in Yanqing often sees an old man with short hair who "picks up garbage." Holding a dilapidated dip net, she bent over and walked around the fishing person. The plastic bag in her hand was filled with garbage such as plastic bottles and foam boards.
She is He Yufeng, who grew up on the edge of the Kushui River. For 24 years, she went to the river several times a day. According to her estimation, there were "eight or nine hundred thousand pieces of garbage" picked up by the river.
She is famous for picking up trash, and is affectionately known as "environmentally friendly grandma". She is also named "Beijing role model". Some environmental volunteers also joined in. He Yufeng said that there are now tens of thousands of volunteers who are being driven to pick up trash.
He Yufeng, now 62 years old, has white temples and often has pain in his waist due to strain, but he still rides on the banks of the Kushui River every day to pick up garbage left by anglers and tourists.
Compared with honors, she valued the good changes of Yushuihe more. She often remembered the scene when she was washing her face by the Qiushui River when she was a child. She said that now she is more like a "washer for the Qiushui River".
Beijing News reporter Zhang Xiting
"Wash all the rubbish along the Gushui River"
At 4 o'clock in the morning, a low red brick courtyard lit up in the family area of Yanqing Farm.
He Yufeng, 62, woke up early as usual. The husband was still asleep, she picked up the flashlight, found a 3-meter-long copy in the yard, and pushed the bicycle out.
After riding more than three hundred meters along the gravel road in front of the door, I reached the edge of the river.
This tributary of the Yongding River, which originated from the northeast of Yanqing, traverses the entire Yanqing Basin and flows 18.5 kilometers into the Guanting Reservoir. The wide surface of the water attracts many anglers and tourists, but it also often leaves garbage left unattended.
He Yufeng took out several crumpled plastic bags from under the bicycle seat and pinched them in his hands. The aperture of the flashlight caught a bottle of mineral water "laying" by the river. She poured out the water, stomped on the ground, and stuffed it into her bag.
Two hours later, He Yufeng dragged a few bags of garbage home, sorted it and put it in the trash at the door.
He Yufeng has been keeping the habit of picking up trash by the river for 24 years.
Starting in 1996, He Yufeng and her husband would take a fertilizer bag when walking out of the bend and pick up some plastic bags and water bottles by the river.
He Yufeng remembered that in the past few years, more and more cars were coming in this village near the Qiushui River, and there were groups of anglers and tourists along the river. By the weekend, the river was almost full of people. They tied hammocks in the woods and ate barbecues.
The crowd dispersed, but there was a lot of garbage left by the river. However, there is no person responsible for cleaning up rubbish in the river section between the two places.
The section of the river near He Yufeng's house is at the junction of the two towns. She lived in this small courtyard for 34 years.
He Yufeng remembered that when she was seven or eight years old, she came home from school to fight pigweed. She often got muddy and washed her face directly in the Kushui River. The river is very clear, you can see the yellow and white stones on the bottom. After washing her face, she drank water with her hands, and sometimes picked up a few tadpoles.
He Yufeng said that when she was not happy, she walked by the river of Kushui. The bird crossed the water and creaked, making her feel comfortable.
But with more tourists, He Yufeng noticed that some changes have taken place in the Gushui River. There is garbage on the coast, and a "garbage belt" floats on both sides of the channel. Seeing this, He Yufeng felt terrified. She wanted to pick up the garbage as much as possible, and "wash" the Gushui River piece by piece.
"Nobody understands the cold life"
The garbage in the Qiushui River piled up, and the surface of the water began to show dirty green waves. "Birds are not willing to go." He Yufeng wrote these changes in his diary, "Cry when I write."
Slowly, it became He Yufeng's habit to pick up garbage by the river.
When there were many tourists, He Yufeng became very busy and ran to the river three times a day. I went out at 3 in the morning, went to the river for a turn at noon, and returned to the river after dinner. He Yufeng's daily itinerary has a "Ten Mile Waterway", and she has divided this area into her "responsible area".
"But picking up trash is not a decent thing. No one understood me at that time." He Yufeng said that at the beginning, her husband Peng Yuzhong also said that she was "not doing business" and felt that she could not hang on her face and stopped walking with her.
Peng Yuzhong didn't understand. Not only did his wife bring back what he could use, but he even took the garbage home. Muddy rags, even toilet paper that can attract flies.
The villagers secretly said she was "mentally ill", and her son who was in school was also attacked by classmates, and even reprimanded by tourists. He Yufeng recalled that on a cloudy day, a dozen young people ate barbecues by the river. Fearing that the wind and rain would bring the garbage into the river, she took the copybook to them to clean up. A young man's complexion suddenly changed, "If you pick it up, you will be beaten!"
He Yufeng ran back home in horror. It didn't take long for it to rain, and He Yufeng returned to the river again, pulling the garbage out of the mud a little bit.
He Yufeng talked about a dangerous experience. On an early morning in 2000, with strong winds, she used branches to get a piece of foam floating on the water by the river bank, "slipped" on the soles of her feet, and slid into three or four meters of water. Fortunately, he quickly grabbed the willow tree before climbing up.
He Yufeng came home wetly and told her husband what happened. Peng Yuzhong scolded her a few words, and then made a new copy for her, comforting her and saying, "Don't take any risks in the future, you will call me when you encounter difficulties, and I will pick up with you."
The small courtyard at home becomes a "garbage classification demonstration area"
Peng Yuzhong said that at that time he was worried about his wife's safety and was also moved by her persistence. He Yufeng remembered that he cried on the spot and felt that he had never been understood, and finally got support.
In order to insist on picking up trash by the river, He Yufeng rarely traveled on weekdays. When the grandson was born, she also left her husband at home and picked up trash for her in the "responsible area". During the time he left, He Yufeng had to call her husband "Chagang" at 4:30 every day.
The son joked, "Mother only sees the garbage by the river".
At first, He Yufeng did not know how much plastic waste pollutes the land and water. She asked her son to check the data from the Internet and tell her. Beginning in 2008, He Yufeng photographed the areas where the garbage was thrown seriously and reported them to the relevant departments. Soon, several garbage ponds and sorting bins were built and put into use.
Husband Peng Yuzhong said that from the time his wife started to pick up garbage by the river, their small courtyard gradually became a "garbage classification demonstration area."
They piled up recyclable bottles and cans on the side of the yard, and opened up a space of more than ten square meters next to the public toilet at the door for non-recyclable garbage. "In recent years, there have been three or four hundred thousand light mineral water bottles."
He Yufeng, who persisted for many years, tried to find a helper. In 2015, He Yufeng initiated the establishment of the "Sunset Passing Environmental Protection Volunteer Service Team", and regularly carried out voluntary environmental protection activities on both sides of the Qiushui River, major scenic spots, and the Haituoshan Winter Olympic Games venues. Some college students also joined. He Yufeng said that there may be tens of thousands of volunteers now being driven.
"Everyone doesn't throw garbage, I'm happy"
Because of his experience in picking up trash, He Yufeng was named "Beijing Model" in 2017. Since then, he has also won the titles of "100 Most Beautiful Ecological Environmental Protection Volunteers" and "Capital Moral Model".
"It's rubbish thrown away, it's a virtue when picked up." Among all the comments, He Yufeng liked this sentence the most. She said she hoped that more people would start with themselves and protect the environment. "Everyone will not throw garbage, I will be happy."
He Yufeng smiled and said that even his 7-year-old grandson would join them. "As soon as I got home, I took my hand and dragged outside the door, going to the river to pick up trash." After talking about it, He Yufeng said that he would persevere until he could not pick it up.
What gratified her was that a few years ago, the local government carried out ecological rehabilitation of the Xushui River, and now the river has been restored to its former clearness. But this did not allow the garbage along the river to disappear completely. He Yufeng said that he hopes that the relevant departments can put more garbage cans in this area and find someone to manage them.
After dinner on June 25, He Yufeng pushed his bicycle to the river of Gushui. When picking up the garbage, she would naturally hum her little song that changed her words: "Hey... the mountain is also high, the water is high, the water of Longqing Gorge is like emerald, and the horses are flying in the Kangxi grassland; The Haituo Mountain is beautiful..."
In recent years, He Yufeng's mobile phone has captured many beautiful sceneries. One morning, she photographed a morning glow on the banks of the Qishui River. The river reflected the green trees on the shore and the sky clouds.
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