Green professions contribute to building of a beautiful China

As China advances toward green and low-carbon development, green professions are emerging. China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has identified 137 such roles. Recently, People's Daily Overseas Edition interviewed three professionals working in these fields who are taking real action to reduce carbon emissions and enhance China's natural beauty.

Energy storage power station operations manager Xia Peng

Late at night, during off-peak hours, the hydrogen production system begins operating at the megawatt-level demonstration station for the comprehensive utilization of hydrogen energy in Lu'an city, east China's Anhui Province. Operations manager Xia Peng moves between the equipment, meticulously inspecting every step.

Xia Peng (left) and his colleague check and maintain equipment at the megawatt-level demonstration station for the comprehensive utilization of hydrogen energy in Lu'an city, east China's Anhui Province. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

Xia explained that the hydrogen energy storage model uses off-peak electricity or surplus renewable energy to produce hydrogen, which is stored and later converted back into electricity during peak demand to supply the grid. The Lu'an hydrogen station's "electricity-to-hydrogen-to-electricity" cycle saves approximately 1,091 tonnes of standard coal annually and cuts carbon dioxide emissions by about 1,889 tonnes.

In 2019, Xia joined the hydrogen station, witnessing its evolution from a concept to the country's first operational facility of this kind.

A power station operations manager uses tools, instruments, and detection devices to gather data, monitor system status, perform maintenance, and manage equipment for energy storage units like electrochemical systems, compressed air, and flywheels.

"Power station operations may seem repetitive, but every detail is critical to system stability," Xia said. "We must master each device's technical principles, understand their structure, and continually gain experience through hands-on practice."

During the 2024 summer peak period, the Lu'an hydrogen station successfully handled 16 peak load regulation tasks.

"With advancements in renewable energy technology, power station operations will evolve into a model incorporating digital twin and AI diagnosis," Xia said. "We'll become not just equipment maintainers but also energy value architects," he said, optimistic about the future of the profession.

Industrial wastewater treatment worker Huang Wanhui

At CITIC Envirotech's wastewater treatment plant in Gaoyang county, Baoding city, north China's Hebei Province, streams of industrial wastewater flow through pipes. After a series of complex treatment processes, the once-polluted water emerges clear and meets discharge standards.

Huang Wanhui checks the quality of treated water at CITIC Envirotech's wastewater treatment plant in Gaoyang county, Baoding city, north China's Hebei Province. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

Gaoyang county is known as China's "textile town," where dyeing is essential to the industry, according to 36-year-old Huang Wanhui, who has worked at the plant for 10 years. "The plant mainly handles wastewater from dyeing companies, processing about 180,000 cubic meters daily," said Huang.

"Industrial wastewater treatment is highly technical, involving chemistry, biology, and mechanical engineering," Huang explained. To better qualify for his role, he attended vocational school to strengthen his knowledge and skills.

One of Huang's key duties is routine inspections. He regularly checks wastewater treatment indicators and monitors equipment like water pumps and fans.

Huang actively contributes to technological innovation. He found that some wastewater had high chemical oxygen demand (COD) levels with hard-to-degrade organic pollutants. Traditional biological methods struggled to treat this effectively, causing unstable water quality.

In response, Huang and his colleagues improved the activated sludge process, adding anaerobic-aerobic treatment and introducing a biofilm reactor. The improved process significantly reduced COD levels, earning praise from local environmental authorities and manufacturers.

Nature reserve engineer Kong Fanyan

On the eastern edge of the Qaidam Basin in Delingha city, northwest China's Qinghai Province, lies a pair of high-altitude lakes: Keluke Lake and Tuosu Lake.

"In recent years, the nature reserve's ecological environment has steadily improved, with bird species numbers increasing annually," said Kong Fanyan, an engineer at the service center of the Keluke Lake-Tuosu Lake Nature Reserve.

Kong Fanyan (right) and a colleague observe migratory birds at the Keluke Lake-Tuosu Lake Nature Reserve in northwest China's Qinghai Province. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

"In May 2023, we even recorded over 30 Pacific golden plovers for the first time," said Kong.

Since joining the nature reserve in 2022, Kong has integrated existing monitoring systems to build a sky-ground resource monitoring network, consolidating data into a unified digital platform covering hydrology, vegetation, wildlife, and more. This innovation significantly boosted monitoring efficiency and improved data support for bird conservation.

"Last year, we observed a 12 percent increase year on year in the population of black-necked cranes, which is under first-class state protection in China," Kong noted while displaying historical data comparisons on the electronic display screen in her office.

Spanning 97,800 hectares, the Keluke Lake-Tuosu Lake Nature Reserve is a vital stopover for migratory birds and plays a key role in maintaining regional ecological balance.

Facing wetland degradation, Kong and her research team explored wetland conservation and restoration solutions, carried out wetland health assessments in a scientific manner, and conducted saline-alkali tolerant plant cultivation and fundamental research to guide their conservation efforts.

Kong brought local villagers on board as eco-coordinators. With incentives like rotational grazing subsidies and wetland ecological benefit compensation, they managed to strike a balance between conservation and development.

Today, the nature reserve's bird species has risen from 143 to 149. It is now Qinghai's only nature reserve designated as both a wetland-type nature reserve and a national terrestrial wildlife epidemic monitoring station.