YINCHUAN, March 1 (Xinhua) -- A new regulation aimed at promoting the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin took effect on Tuesday in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

According to the regulation, Ningxia will strictly control construction projects along the Yellow River shoreline, and prohibit the construction and expansion of chemical projects within a certain distance of the river and its tributaries.

Ningxia has been designated as a pilot zone to promote the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin. The regulation encourages the region to take trial steps in this regard and establish mechanisms that allow for errors.

The Yellow River is the second-longest river in China, measuring 5,464 kilometers in length. It runs through nine provincial regions: Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and Shandong.

An almost 400-kilometer stretch of the Yellow River runs through Ningxia, a key region safeguarding ecological security in northwest China.