北京时间7月27日下午，中国男足选拔队将在日本丰田体育场迎战2022年东亚杯最后1轮对手中国香港队。

B |     

    Workers harvest Ottelia acuminata at a planting base at Yong'an Village of Eryuan County in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, on Oct. 18, 2024.(Photo by Luo Xincai/Xinhua)Under the summer sun, Erhai Lake in southwest China's Yunnan Province glistens thanks to its clear blue water dotted with floating white blossoms. Tourists stroll and cycle around the spot, where limpid waters, lush mountains and blooming flowers combine in weaving a picturesque scene.
The delicate blossom seen floating there is Ottelia acuminata, an aquatic plant endemic to China, which is known to have extremely strict water quality requirements. It demands high water transparency, cleanliness and calcium content, and survives only in unpolluted waters, serving as a reliable natural indicator of aquatic ecological health.
Its large-scale revival vividly testifies to Erhai Lake's remarkable ecological restoration achievements.
China's Ecological and Environmental Code, enacted on Saturday, stipulates nationwide protection and restoration of river and lake ecosystems, providing solid legal support for systematic water ecological governance across the country.
As China advances its Beautiful China initiative, this code is expected to strengthen rule-of-law guarantees for ecological protection and provide fresh impetus for the country's green and low-carbon transition.
In the early 1990s, agricultural pollution worsened Erhai Lake's water quality, causing frequent blue-green algae outbreaks. A severe algae bloom hit the lake in 1996, leaving the water turbid and smelly. As the environment degraded, Ottelia acuminata nearly disappeared from the lake.
Thanks to years of targeted ecological protection and restoration efforts, the lake's water quality has improved steadily, maintaining an excellent Grade II standard from January to June 2026, and creating favorable conditions for the return of Ottelia acuminata.
Official data show that the plant's coverage on Erhai Lake has surged from 90,000 square meters in 2021 to 950,000 square meters in 2026, marking a remarkable ecological recovery.
The improved water environment has also brought tangible economic benefits, turning the lake's ecological advantages into a sustainable industry. From lake ecology to farm cultivation and consumer products, Ottelia acuminata's dual ecological and economic value has been fully realized.
In 2018, environmental worker Zhong Lan noticed the edible plant's great potential for water purification and industrial development. With support from local authorities and Shanghai Jiao Tong University in eastern China, she started a company and built a professional research base in 2024, developing standardized planting techniques that enable high-yield, repeated harvests and offering jobs for local villagers.
Villager Li Xinyuan, who quit Ottelia acuminata cultivation years ago due to low profits, resumed planting in 2023 and earns a stable monthly salary of 4,500 yuan (about 663 U.S. dollars) at the base.
His fellow villager Du Hongquan earned over 100,000 yuan last year from growing the plant and has more than doubled his planting area this year. "The base takes full charge of sales, so we can plant without any worries," Du said.
Eryuan County, the source of Erhai Lake, now has more than 200 hectares of Ottelia acuminata plantation area, creating numerous jobs yearly. The plant has been developed into a diverse range of products like tea, plant-based coffee and cookies.
"I used to think it was exclusive to Yunnan, but I can try it elsewhere too," said a tourist surnamed Ai after tasting the plant at a hotpot restaurant in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province.
The beautiful lakeside scenery at Erhai has also boosted local tourism. In 2025, Dali received over 120 million tourist visits, attracting visitors to enjoy lake views and experience local Bai ethnic culture, with 407,000 long-term visitors.
Last month, the 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 this initiative.
According to the plan, China will achieve overall improvement in ecological and environmental quality and make significant progress toward building a Beautiful China by 2030, with green production and lifestyles largely established and the carbon peaking target reached on schedule.
。对国足选拔队来说，这是一场输不起的比赛。对于现年50岁的球队塞尔维亚籍主帅扬科维奇来说，是检验其执教能力的一次重要考核。尽管目前尚无权威渠道证实扬科维奇与正编国足帅位有何直接联系，但如果能够在本届东亚杯期间交出一份令人信服的带队成绩单，无疑会提升扬科维奇在中国足协内部及外界的印象分数。扬科维奇作为杭州亚运会中国队的主帅，势必继续受到中国足协的信任与重用。

C |

俄罗斯世界杯落幕后，中国足协为强化对各级国字号球队的技术支持，有意识从外部引进部分优质“师资力量”，除邀请到曾助比利时队光耀俄罗斯世界杯的技术总监克瑞斯外，中国足协还同期引进年富力强的原塞尔维亚国青队主帅亚历山大·扬科维奇。2018年9月28日，扬科维奇受聘，出任当时的中国U19B队主教练。这位塞尔维亚教头与1999年龄段中国队的缘分正是由此次合作结下的。

D | 在该年龄段国青队折戟亚青赛赛场后，中国足协考虑到这一年龄段球队还将承载着杭州亚运会竞争重任，特邀请扬科维奇于2018年11月底开始扮演1999年龄段U20国家队主帅的角色（官宣正式接手时间为2019年1月1日）。正是凭借踏实的工作作风及在带队实践过程中表现出的理论水平、业务素养，扬科维奇获得中国足协初步认可，双方于2020年10月下旬在苏州就前者担任中国U21国家队主帅一事续约，双方合作周期将至杭州亚运会结束后。受疫情影响，这支1999年龄段球队在过去3年多时间里，除于2019年参加了少许拉练、邀请赛或友谊赛外，一度长达2年多没有参加过任何形式的国际比赛。在培养锻炼新人、磨合阵容阵型方面，扬科维奇团队遇到了较大困难。与此同时，扬科维奇带兵实战能力如何评判，中国足协实际上也缺乏可靠的依据。本届东亚杯前，1999年龄段中国队以U23国足番号备战杭州亚运会，但也恰恰因杭州亚运会因故延至明年举办，今年3月下旬的迪拜杯成为这支球队近3年来参加的首项正式国际赛事。在本次赛事中，中国U23队在首轮及排位赛中两负阿联酋U23队，不过在次轮比赛中以4比2大胜泰国U23队，从而最终锁定赛事第4名。

E | 比起胜负成绩，这支球队最大的收获当属积累了些许国际比赛经验。正是因为参赛数量有限，扬科维奇执教成色几何仍很难清晰呈现。在这种情况下，东亚杯无疑将成为国足选拔队及扬科维奇个人能力评判的重要标尺。如果说这支国足选拔队以3球完败在韩国队脚下的结果在“合理范畴”内，那么球队在东亚杯次轮逼平强大的日本队，则令人眼前一亮，同时给困境中的中国男子足球带来些许慰藉。扬科维奇行不行？至少其当场比赛的用兵是成功的。但“爆冷”过后，国足选拔队及扬科维奇必须面对另一个现实，那就是末轮面对实力相对最弱的中国香港队，中国男足选拔队能否延续此前的态势，一鼓作气拿下对手。受各队实力参差不齐影响，国足选拔队末轮显然不会像前两轮比赛中那样屯重兵于防守，但球队的攻势足球如何演绎，扬科维奇亦面临全新挑战。

F | 如果末战中国香港队成绩不理想，那么国足选拔队的偶时“惊艳”及扬科维奇本人的带队效果都可能被抵消掉。

G | 值得注意的是，这支出现在东亚杯上的中国男足选拔队其实是以中国队身份报名参加本届东亚杯赛的。正编国足在今年3月底结束卡塔尔世预赛征程后，本年度内并无备战、比赛计划，球队主教练李霄鹏去留问题的答案至今没有得到官方确认。从这个角度来说，将扬科维奇与正编国足主帅帅位联系到一起是不合适的。

H | 文/本报记者 肖赧