SHANGHAI -- Kong Hainan is the chair professor and doctoral supervisor with Shanghai Jiao Tong University and head of a major science and technology project of water pollution control and management on Erhai Lake in Southwest China's Yunnan province. He had led a team to work in Yunnan for nearly 20 years to improve the water quality of Erhai Lake.

Ottelia acuminata, known as an indicator of water quality, once bloomed in Erhai Lake. Since the 1990s, due to the deterioration of the water quality of the lake, the plant became hard to be found. Thanks to the efforts of Kong's team and local authorities, the water quality of Erhai Lake has gradually improved, and ottelia acuminata flourished again.

In 2020, Kong retired at the age of 70. He took out his personal savings to initiate a fund to train personnel for the protection of Erhai Lake and to support scientific research on its conservation. In recent years, the artificial cultivation area of ottelia acuminata in Yunnan has reached 3,000 mu (200 hectares), and the plant has become an important vegetable for local people. Shanghai Jiao Tong University also successfully developed the storage and preservation technology of ottelia acuminata, and extended its shelf life to 14 days. The vegetable has now become a popular dish on dining tables in cities outside Yunnan.