In 2011, Kunming Aquatic Science Park settled in the Kunming National Hi-Tech Industries Development Zone. It has gathered major water companies in China and abroad and engages in water conservation, wastewater treatment, equipment manufacturing, water recycling and purification, water environment protection and water management solutions.

The integration of the water industry and science has produced amazing results. Yunnan has made use of the park to showcase and demonstrate its latest achievements and technology development in the water industry. For the past three years, the water park has cooperated with the companies in the zone to carry out different projects, achieving positive results with prominent industrial agglomeration effects.

Qin Guangrong, Party secretary of Yunnan, pointed out that developing water technology to solve water problems means a lot not only to human and social development but also to the development of Yunnan’s high-tech industry when he visited the water park on April 3.

The park received attention when it was set up in the high-tech zone. Early water technology development in Yunnan has laid a solid foundation for the establishment of the park. Yunnan has worked hard on water protection and utilization since 2006 to solve its water shortage.

"Water treatment and development can’t exist without technology. Yunnan has conducted deep and sustainable studies on comprehensive water pollution treatment in its nine major lakes, such as Dianchi, Erhai and Fuxian lakes,” said Long Jiang, head of Yunnan’s science and technology department. “The province has helped industrialization of a batch of scientific achievements, offering strong technical support for water conservancy, water development and utilization, and water technology development.”

In 2013, a total of 14 water technology achievements won provincial science and technology awards, reflecting Yunnan’s focus on using technology to develop the water industry. These achievements covered hydroelectric resource development, lake improvement, water pollution and drought controls.

"There are a number of water technology companies in Yunnan, but they haven’t led to aggregation effects yet,” Long Jiang said. Years of water technology development has supported and guided water technology industry development. Yunnan Originwater, Yunnan Kungang Water Purification Technology and Kunming Ultrapure Water Technology Engineering are among the top players in the industry, according to Long.

The water park has evolved into a home to more than 100 water technology companies that specialize in drinking water safety, sewage treatment, reclaimed water reuse, lake pollution treatment and water environment recovery. Leading water companies, including Originwater, Zhonghuan Jinze and Asia-Pacific Environmental Protection, have settled there and have started to generate social and economic benefits.

Zhonghuan Jinze has turned itself from a polluting into a pollution treatment company. The company applied Disk Tubular Reverse Osmosis (DTRO) in the design and construction of refuse landfills at Yuxi, Dali and Nujiang, and ensured that effluent quality meets standards for discharge or recycling. Yunnan Originwater independently developed membrane bioreactor, sewage treatment and recycling technology that involved more than 80 patents, filling a void in the domestic market. The company’s membrane technology facility in the high-tech zone is capable of producing 600,000-square-meter hollow fibrous membranes and more than 300 sets of large membrane units, taking up more than 90 percent of the membrane bioreactor market in Yunnan. Kunming High-Tech Xincheng Water Technology Co has promoted ultrapure water technology, purifying and softening water simultaneously. It has guaranteed safe drinking water.

From water pollution control to water security, from water recycling to water environment and ecological restoration, water companies in the park offer solutions to Yunnan’s water problems.