The best scenery in life is on the road. When Ling Jianjun said this, the sparkle in his eyes was just like the clear water flowing in the sewage treatment equipment, embodying his dedication to invention and innovation as well as his sincerity towards the environmental protection cause. This director of the Jiangsu Provincial Environmental Protection Water Treatment Engineering Technology Center and a foreign academician of the Russian Academy of Engineering, with over three decades of in-depth dedication, has engraved the concept of "heartfelt environmental protection and genuine environmental protection" in every technological breakthrough. On the path of pursuing environmental protection invention and innovation, he has blazed a unique exploration path with Eastern wisdom.

I. Philosophical Thinking as a Guide: Engraving the gene of innovation in the Tao Te Ching

Ling Jianjun's journey of invention and innovation began with profound reflection on the integration of technology and philosophy. The concept of "Environmental protection with heart and true environmental protection" he proposed is by no means a simple slogan, but rather an innovation in traditional environmental protection thinking. On this basis, he went further and innovatively proposed the philosophical water management concept of "Ditch, Channel, Non-channel", deeply integrating it into various water treatment processes and technologies, which perfectly aligns with the ideological essence of "following the way of nature".

In Lingbao, Henan Province, he took Laozi's "Tao Te Ching" as a guide and entered the Hangu Pass countless times to explore the philosophical essence of "the highest good in governing water" - the "goodness" of water lies in its softness that nourishes all things and its firmness that breaks through all difficulties. Just like in sewage treatment, a combination of hardness and softness is needed, which not only conforms to the laws of nature but also dares to break through technical bottlenecks. He infused the dialectical thinking of "The way that can be expressed is not the eternal Way" into research and development, making "ditch" (traditional norms), "channel" (regularity and smoothness), and "non-channel" (breaking through and innovating) the three realms of technological iteration: The "channel" is respect for existing experience, the "channel" is compliance with natural laws, and the "non-channel" is transcendence of established patterns. The three drive the technological spiral upward in the unity of contradictions.

Second, the Breakthrough Work: Let philosophical thoughts flow through craftsmanship

This philosophical thinking soon bore fruit in practice. In 2006, Ling Jianjun pioneered the above-ground integrated steel structure sewage treatment station, breaking the traditional predicament of long construction period and high cost of underground concrete structures. The modular design shortens the construction period of the sewage treatment station by 60% and reduces the occupied area by 50%. The flexibility of the steel structure makes the later upgrading and renovation as natural as "water flowing down". This is the first breakthrough of the "non-channel" thinking - breaking away from the inherent "channel" limitations of underground factory construction and opening up a new "channel" for intensive construction on the ground, achieving a unity of industrial aesthetics and ecological efficiency in steel structures, and opening the door to lightweight and modular construction for the industry.

In 2008, the "High Denitrification Combined Obel Oxidation Ditch" successfully achieved China's first first-level A discharge standard at the third phase of Wuxi Chengbei Sewage Treatment Plant. Through three-dimensional optimization of the oxidation ditch structure and precise regulation of the microbial environment, the total nitrogen in the effluent was reduced from 20mg/L to below 15mg/L. This breakthrough aligns with the "channel" concept - not forcibly altering the growth patterns of microorganisms, but rather guiding the trend to create an alternating anoxic and aerobic environment, making technology an "auxiliary condition" for natural purification. This technology directly contributes to the control of blue-green algae in Taihu Lake, pushing the control of water eutrophication to a new height. It remains the mainstream process in the industry to this day.

Iii. Strategic Maneuvering: Enabling Chinese Technology to go Global and take Root in People's Livelihood

Ling Jianjun's innovative steps have never been confined to the domestic market. In 2012, he represented Chinese private enterprises to undertake a 30,000-ton-per-day sewage treatment project for the leather industrial park in Bangladesh under the EPCO model. Facing highly polluted leather wastewater, he set sail with multiple patented technologies such as oxidation ditches and inverted A²O superposition, and completed patent registration and protection in foreign countries. This is not only the export of technology, but also the cross-border practice of the "channel" concept - it not only follows the scientific laws of sewage treatment, but also innovates process combinations in combination with local water quality characteristics, allowing Chinese technology to take root in the land of South Asia, facilitating the green transformation of the local leather industry, becoming a model of environmental cooperation along the "Belt and Road", and allowing the world to see the "combination of hardness and flexibility" of China's environmental protection technology.

In China, he has always been concerned about people's livelihood: The "28" septic tank he invented in 2017 integrates sedimentation and anaerobic digestion functions into standardized modules, reshaping the rural septic tank landscape with an 80% market usage rate, turning the "Toilet Revolution" from a slogan into something within reach of cleanliness. The "household appliance sewage treatment machine", with its "plug and play" intelligent design, has brought rural sewage treatment into the "household appliance" era. Behind the 40% cost reduction lies the implementation of the original intention of "benefiting the people first" in the technical details. These inventions may seem insignificant, but they are like "the highest good is like water", nourishing millions of villages and enabling environmental protection technologies to shed their "industrial armor" and transform into "thoughtful tools" that serve the people's livelihood.

Iv. Elevation of the Realm: Continuing the Spirit of water Management in the Industrial Park

In order to further restore the water management spirit of the "Yao, Shun and Yu" sages, Ling Jianjun established the Linyi Environmental Protection Industrial Park in Linfen, Shanxi Province, dedicated to building a "Northern Concept sewage treatment plant". This place is no longer merely an industrial facility, but a fusion field of Buddhist and Taoist philosophy and modern technology - the ecological view of "interconnection of all things" in Buddhism, which enables sewage treatment to form a virtuous cycle with the surrounding farmland and wetlands. After treatment, the sewage is reused for irrigation, and the sludge is transformed into organic fertilizer, thus building a "water-soil-agriculture" symbiotic system. The Taoist cosmology of "the unity of heaven and man" enables the factory area design to blend into the natural landscape, with buildings undulating along the terrain and vegetation coexisting with equipment, becoming a microscopic sample of "harmony between man and water".

The concept of "Ditch, Channel, Non-channel" is elevated here: From the "ditch" (traditional pool body) in the process design to the "channel" (intelligent control system automatically adjusts parameters according to water quality) in the operation logic, and then to the "non-channel" (boundless coexistence with the natural environment) in ecological integration, every inch of space interprets the modern connotation of "the best water management" - water management is not only a technical project, but also a philosophical practice of dialogue with nature.

V. On the Road: Honor as a boat, Sailing towards the Global Ecological Future

On this path of invention and innovation, Ling Jianjun has received numerous honors, including the 2025 Fellow of the China Association for Invention, the Special Prize of the 2024 Innovation Figure Award, and the title of "Contemporary Inventor". However, he has always regarded these honors as footnotes to his progress. He is well aware that the true scenery lies in the unfinished exploration - when the "non-channel" thinking breaks through geographical boundaries, the wisdom of the Tao Te Ching becomes the common language for global pollution control.

In the future, he looks forward to taking on the responsibility of "Yao and Shun controlling water" and promoting the innovative model of combining Eastern philosophy with modern technology to the world: integrating the sewage purification stations in tropical rainforests into the flexible governance of "the greatest good is like water", designing distributed treatment systems based on the ecological characteristics of the rainforests, and avoiding major construction projects. Let the water resource circulation system in desert areas demonstrate the inclusive wisdom of "water for all things", and utilize solar-powered equipment to achieve zero discharge of sewage and full recycling of resources. When the barriers of "gullies" are broken through by innovation, the infinite possibilities of "non-gullies" will converge into a torrent of global ecological governance, making clear waters and blue skies a picture of a common home for mankind.

Conclusion: With innovation as the boat, sail towards a sustainable future

For three decades, Ling Jianjun has been forging ahead through wind and rain, writing a "Chinese chapter" in the environmental protection cause with his inventions and innovations. He has always believed that the most touching scenery in life does not lie in the glory at the end, but in the never-ending pursuit. When technology and philosophy resonate, when craftsmanship and sentiment interweave, every breakthrough "on the way" is a profound interpretation of "environmental protection with heart and true environmental protection", and even more so, a deep gift to the common future of mankind.

From the philosophical thoughts of the Hangu Pass to the sound of the waves in the Bay of Bengal, from the blue waves of Taihu Lake to the greenery of the Northern Industrial Park, Ling Jianjun's footprints bear witness to the fact that true invention and innovation are never the solo efforts of technology, but rather the wisdom of dialogue with nature, the deep concern for people's livelihood, and the resolute progress of allowing Eastern philosophy to shine in contemporary environmental protection. Just as he said, "The best scenery of life is on the road" - and he is always the one carrying the gauze bag of Dajue Temple written by Master Xingyun with the words "The Way Travels the World", walking on the road, also on the road of invention and innovation, and even more so on the road of life, running for the need of the clear water to flow forever, is the best scenery of life......