At the Baimashan National Defense Education Park, a series of sponge city upgrades—including ecological slope stabilization, gravel drainage channels, rain gardens, and a 275-cubic-meter rainwater storage tank—now capture and reuse stormwater, setting a benchmark for sponge city development in Yichang's hilly terrain.

　　Since being designated a national pilot city for sponge city construction in 2022, Yichang has completed 183 demonstration projects across five key districts. Initiatives such as the ecological restoration of Shahe Wetland, the near-natural rehabilitation of the Juanqiao River, and the integration of sponge infrastructure into old residential communities have helped Yichang achieve its vision of effective stormwater management during both light and heavy rainfall.

　　In 2023, Yichang was recognized as a “National Ecological Civilization Construction Demonstration Zone” and received the prestigious “China Habitat Environment Award.” Yichang is now developing technical guidelines for hilly sponge city construction in collaboration with Peking University and Tsinghua University. It has also launched a citywide smart monitoring platform to track urban conditions, embedding the principles of sponge technologies and the integration of urban development with natural landscapes into its high-quality growth strategy. (Sanxia Daily: Reporters/Yang Xue and Li Boyan, Correspondent/Zhou Hanfei)