With its source in Qinghai province, the Yellow River runs through nine provinces and autonomous regions including Shaanxi and Henan before flowing into the Bohai Sea in Shandong province. With only 2 percent of the country's river water content, the 5,464-kilometer waterway serves about 12 percent of China's population, irrigates about 15 percent of arable land and supplies water to more than 60 major cities.

Despite improvements in water quality, water shortages remain a big challenge for economic development in the river basin, said Lian Yu, acting head of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment's bureau that oversees the vitality of the river.

Per capita water resources in the basin are only a fifth of the national level. Environmental infrastructure is a weak link, and wastewater accumulated in the basin has yet to be adequately disposed of and recycled.