By adding aquatic plants, the development will actually create a wetland that will act as a "kidney" for the river, cleaning the sludge and industrial effluents being produced upstream, Lee says.

"We're mimicking a natural process," said Mark Merkelbach, a project engineer at Seattle-based Herrera Environmental Consultants, which also is consulting on the project. Other project consultants include Ojanen Chiou Architect LLP.

The firm will place four bubbling ponds in oxic (oxygen-rich) areas, diffusers that will accelerate the transfer of oxygen to anoxic (oxygen-less, or stagnant) zones. "Each of these areas support microbes that do all the work," Merkelbach says.

The Wusong Water Purification Park will be situated upstream from the development to improve the quality of the water at the complex from Class 5, the lowest rating and signifying completely unsafe, to Class 3, which is not potable but safe to touch. While the process takes just eight days for a conversion, the size of the river will require six months to one year for the riverfront area to be clear.

The river has several small branches that will extend the benefits throughout a larger region, Lee notes.

"We're trying to recreate a flood-plain landscape," Merkelbach says. "It's a very small percentage of what's flowing down the Wusong. We're allowing the water to spread out to this wildlife habitat."

Construction will begin next year, with overall completion in 2020. Other sustainable features include providing habitats for migratory birds, preserving open space, advanced storm water management techniques, use of solar and wind power, and green roofs. The result will be a truly green development in China.

"They're learning the lessons of the United States and Europe," Merkelbach notes. "The last few years have been very progressive."