“UN SDG Good Practice” in China: Ecological Restoration of the Zhangjiagang Bay

Zhangjiagang Bay is the last bay before the Yangtze River enters the sea. Despite many polluting enterprises and breeding industries, the port is crucial to the Yangtze River’s transportation and Zhangjiagang City’s economy. Centered on the national strategy of “Great Protection of the Yangtze River” since 2019, a sum of 3.76 billion RMB has been invested in the removal of industries from the region, dike reconstruction, shoreline, and ecological restoration, aiming to build a 1.4 million m2 waterfront hydrophilic landscape belt for the public. It then moves into the next phase of developing a series of “beautiful villages” via eco-parks, historic buildings, cultural and eco-tourism, and eco-agriculture. A critical discussion of its implementation will shed light on the difficult choices, continued investments, and collective and coordinated efforts by government departments, industries, and communities despite the influence of COVID-19 and competing priorities. Building on the theoretical concepts of environmental ethics and extending its application in educational fields, this study also provides an in-depth examination of the environmental attitudes of the main stakeholders of this nine-goal-achieving “UN SDG Good Practice,” which becomes increasingly important for this kind of urban green infrastructure that critically requires long-term cross-sectoral commitment, resources, and actions for sustained effects.