In early July this year, China's State Council issued a plan for building a Beautiful China during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), setting out the overall requirements, targets, key tasks and major projects for comprehensively advancing the initiative. At the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress, in March, China's national legislature adopted the Ecological and Environmental Code of the People's Republic of China, which opened a new chapter for systematic environmental governance. The code formally took effect on August 15, 2026.
The chapter of "Women's Contributions in the Eco-environmental Field," in the white paper, China's Achievements in Women's Well-Rounded Development in the New Era, records data and cases that systematically and vividly present Chinese women's contributions to ecological protection and green development. Women of China shares several stories about Chinese women, who have contributed to enhancing ecological and environmental protection in China, and to fostering the building of a Beautiful China.
This article focuses on the story of Xu Meiying, Deputy Director of Guangdong Institute of Microbiology (GDIM), under Guangdong Academy of Sciences.
"We have only one Earth, so we must take good care of it. Conducting scientific research into the prevention and control of environmental pollution reveals how pollution occurs, and helps eliminate bottlenecks in controlling pollution. Such research is important for China, as it forges a strong ecological security barrier," says Xu Meiying, Deputy Director of Guangdong Institute of Microbiology (GDIM), under Guangdong Academy of Sciences.
Xu has been dedicated to research into using microbes to control environmental pollution for the past 30 years. "My job involves discovering and conducting research into the microbes that can be used to control pollution and protect the ecological environment," Xu explains.
Xu set for herself the goal of protecting the Earth when she was a high school student. In 1996, after she graduated from the Biology Department of Jinan University (in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province), Xu was recruited by GDIM to be an assistant to Jian Haoran, a pioneer in China's environment microbiology studies. Although Jian had already retired, he continued working with GDIM in pollution-control research.
One year after Xu began working at the institute, the manager of a chemical factory, in Guangzhou, visited GDIM to ask if the institute could help the factory, which was having trouble treating wastewater. The factory's manager hoped GDIM could use microbiological technology to resolve the issue. "My teachers and colleagues encouraged me to take the lead in dealing with the factory's problem. To accumulate experience quickly, I worked hard in the laboratory, and I took every opportunity to conduct research and experiments in the factory. I also consulted several experts and engineers in the environmental-protection sector," Xu recalls.
She researched various pollution-control systems, collected and tested samples, and repeatedly analyzed test results. Her efforts finally paid off. She developed several bioaugmentation wastewater treatment technologies, which helped the factory's wastewater comply with discharge standards.
That experience caused Xu to realize she needed to continually improve her research and innovation capabilities. She pushed herself to work and study at the same time, and she obtained her master's degree, in 2002, and her PhD, in 2005.
Xu conducted her postdoctoral research at the University of Oklahoma, the United States, from 2006-2008. She often worked more than 14 hours a day, and she achieved noticeable achievements in her research. Her essays have been published in The ISME (International Society of Microbial Ecology) Journal and Ecology Letters, both top publications within the international microbial ecology community. Her research results have been cited 4,000-plus times in Science and other publications. Xu has established partnerships with research teams from various institutions, including the University of Oklahoma and Stanford University.
During the past 20 years, Xu and her team have established a database of microbes that can degrade organic pollutants, and several bioaugmentation treatment technological systems, which have been added to China's list of advanced pollution-control technologies. The systems have been applied in approximately 600 pollution-control projects across China, and in countries and regions along the Belt and Road. Xu has received several provincial- or ministerial-level science and technology awards. In 2024, she was named a Guangdong Provincial March 8th Red-Banner Pacesetter.
Xu and her team are currently focusing on the sci-tech innovation related to environmental microbes and ecological security. "Our target is to build an independent, and manageable, database of environmental microbes and ecological security. We hope the database will provide highly compatible, technological support to the building of a Beautiful China," she says. Xu is also chief scientist responsible for a special synthetic-biology program. The program deals with how to use synthetic biology and functional materials in the low-carbon treatment of polluters in landfill leachate.
When asked about her understanding of the Ecological and Environmental Code and the plan for building a Beautiful China during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Xu said the code and the plan support each other, and both carry strategic significance.
"The code builds a unified framework for law-based, ecological-environment governance, and it clarifies the value orientation of ecological-environment-related innovation. The plan highlights sci-tech innovation as the key to modernization of governance, and it proposes tasks, including control of new polluters, ecological restoration and smart monitoring. The model of China's ecological governance has transformed, from end-of-pipe treatment to prevention at the source," she explains.
Xu says she and her team will stick to problem-oriented approaches in innovation, and they will strive to ensure the effects of pollution control, through research results, can be verified and promoted.
Photos from Interviewee
(Women of China English Monthly August 2026)
Editor: Wang Shasha
