In the early morning on June 18, Renaud Jacques Bodot waring a blue vest and holding a bag started his routine work as a “river chief” along the Zhutianpu waterway in Zhangpu Town, Kunshan City of Suzhou.

Bodot of France is the first foreigner in Suzhou to hold the position of river chief. As part of the country's broad plan to control pollution, river chiefs are tasked with resource protection, pollution prevention and control, and ecological restoration.

Bodot patrols along the river at least twice a month to keep a close eye of any pollution problem. He found the thriving water plants and clogging of tree leaves in the river after a rainstorm days ago. He carefully checked a drain to see if there’s any suspicious discharge. When seeing unexpected metal fillings at the riverside, he immediately took photos with his smartphone and shared them with local authorities through the WeChat.

When local government recruited river chiefs in December 2019, Bodot was one of the first to register and then became the first foreigner to join the green task force. To support his work, local government also placed a poster near the river to explain Bodot’s role and responsibilities in both Chinese and English.

The 36-year-old river steward is a manager from Diam Display Equipment Kunshan, a manufacture of display case for cosmetics. He has lived and worked in China for 13 years and moved to settle in Kunshan three years ago.

Bodot said he worked in Shenyang, Yantai, Shanghai and other Chinese cities in the past but Suzhou left him a deep impression when his family visited the city three years ago. Because of the great environment, his family decided to settle in Suzhou and Bodot also hopes to stay here for a long time.

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