He Licheng, owner of a licensed inn in the village of Gusheng, processes wastewater through a septic tank and sewage treatment unit and then transfers it to a village sewage treatment plant. All of the village's wastewater has to be processed before it is returned to Erhai Lake.

Gusheng, west of the lake, is in the Dali Bai autonomous prefecture of Yunnan province.

The strict treatment measures have been instituted since President Xi Jinping visited on Jan 20, 2015. During that trip he spoke highly of the natural environment and traditional Bai houses. He asked people to protect the lake after taking a photo with local officials there.