During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), Shandong remained committed to the national strategy for the Yellow River, advancing ecological protection and high-quality development across the Yellow River Basin.

The Yellow River, China's second-longest, enters Shandong from Heze city and empties into the sea in Kenli district, Dongying, winding 628 kilometers through the province.

Upholding the principles of ecological protection and green development, and targeting the conservation and restoration of wetlands, Shandong has accelerated the development of a green ecological corridor in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It covers Dawen River, Dongping Lake, Nansi Lakes and the Yellow River Delta.

Home to the Yellow River estuary, Dongying has carried out wetland restoration by returning farmland and aquaculture zones to wetlands and tidal flats, dredged tidal creeks, eradicated invasive species and implemented ecological water replenishment.

This suite of targeted restoration measures has revitalized this land. At present, thousands of migratory birds gather here. The spectacular "bird waves" formed by flocks in flight have repeatedly gone viral online, emerging as a clear sign of ecological improvement across Shandong.

Dongping Lake in Tai'an serves as a hub for the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. It is the only flood storage and detention area in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, bearing immense significance for the ecological protection of the entire Yellow River Basin.

The lake was once scarred by illegal sand mining. Later, Tai'an introduced strict management over sand resources. Even at the cost of foregoing an annual sand revenue of 800 million yuan ($117.7 million), the local government strove to restore a scenic landscape teeming with gulls and clear waters. Today, Dongping Lake has been designated one of the national-level beautiful rivers and lakes.

As the Yellow River flows through Shandong, it leaves behind not only water channels and fertile land but also profound cultural heritage. To translate historical resources into modern cultural products and local culture into industrial momentum, Shandong has striven to polish its cultural tourism brand and accelerated the development of a Yellow River cultural experience corridor.

During Tomb Sweeping Day, also known as Qingming Festival, the Liangshan Mountain scenic area in Jining city drew throngs of visitors with various live-action stage shows. In September 2025, the scenic area entered a strategic cooperation agreement with the Wansui Mountain Scenic Area in Kaifeng, Henan province.

By leveraging each other's strengths, the number of performers at Liangshan has risen from 30 to more than 100, and daily performances have expanded from 20 to more than 100. Tourists now spend twice as long visiting the scenic spot, with a sharp rise in the proportion of young visitors.

Good governance of the Yellow River ultimately serves the people. Shandong has prioritized resettlement of residents in river floodplains, growing employment and improving public services, transforming the Yellow River from an area plagued by floods into a channel of happiness, and ensuring the benefits of development reach every household.

In 2017, Shandong launched the resettlement project for residents living in Yellow River floodplains as a key livelihood initiative, with a total investment exceeding 37 billion yuan. It ranks as Shandong's largest rural resettlement project in terms of investment scale, number of residents covered and preferential supporting policies.

The floodplain resettlement project was completed by the end of May 2021. All relocated communities had completed resident relocation by late October that year, freeing 600,000 residents from the threat of perennial floods.