Ma Biao, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), called for joint efforts to better protect and develop the Old Yellow River Course at a Committee on Proposals of the CPPCC National Committee seminar held on Nov 20. 

At the seminar, during which the proposers and undertakers of the course development project had a face-to-face discussion, the Committee on Proposals suggested incorporating the ecological protection and high-quality growth of the Old Yellow River Course into national strategy. 

Ma urged the dedicated consultation organs to fulfill their duties and to contribute to the development of the Yellow River and the well-being of the people living in its basin. 

The old course is an important historical part of the Yellow River Basin and it enjoys geographical advantages and great development potential, he noted. 

Ma added that upgrading the ecological protection and high-quality growth of the Old Yellow River Course to the level of national strategy will help enrich its ecological resources and further promote the historical and cultural status of the river, as well as boosting the sustainable development of both environment and economy in the areas along the old course and across the Yangtze River Delta. 

It will also be a concrete action to reinforce the idea that clear waters and green mountains are as valuable as mountains of gold and silver and would be significant to the coordinated development of the whole basin and the improvement of people's livelihoods, he said. 

At the meeting, the proposers offered suggestions on planning, ecological protection, water conservancy project construction and the development of agricultural and cultural tourism along the river course. 

The Old Yellow River Course starts from Lankao county in Kaifeng, a city in Central China's Henan province in the west, and runs through many revolutionary bases in the provinces of Henan, Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu, traveling about 738 kilometers to flow into the sea at Binhai county in Jiangsu's Yancheng city.