Xixi wetland national park in China
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Xixi wetland is the first and only national wetland park in China. Located in the western part of Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province, it covers a total of 11 square kilometers or 26,000 acres. The park is densely crisscrossed by six main watercourses, among which are scattered various ponds, lakes and swamps.
Xixi wetland has a history of more than 1,800 years and an abundant cultural heritage. It's the original site of Chinese South opera; it has a traditional Dragon Boat Festival contest and it contains the vivid life of a water village, featuring silkworm feeding and silk production.
In today's On the Road, CRI's Liu Min will take us there to take a look.
"Hangzhou in East China has enjoyed a long reputation as a paradise and continues to attract visitors from all over the world. But just like any other modern city, Hangzhou also is a busy metropolis with bustling traffic day and night.
But this city has a special attraction. Once you step into the delicate gardens on the sides of the roads or any scenic spots surrounding West Lake, the tranquility and peace always captures your soul. It is always difficult to tell whether you are in a city with a garden, or a garden with a city.
Unlike renowned West Lake, Xixi National Wetland Park is more of a mystery for many Chinese visitors.
Many of the scenes from the popular movie "If You Are the One" were filmed here where the heroine took a boat trip with her boyfriend through the Xixi waterway.
Ever since the movie debuted during this year's Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, more and more domestic visitors have been coming to Xixi.
Our guide, Lu Liang, works for the park's management office.
"Now there are many films crews coming here to take shots. Many visitors have come to look for the big houses that appear in the movie, but we tell them that they are only for lease, not for sale. We don't sell houses in Xixi."
"Now we are sitting in a boat. It is quite a pleasant to take a sightseeing cruise to appreciate the nice scenery. The beautiful scenes are like unfolding scrolls. The water surface reflects colorful plants along the bank. We can see that a handful of old buildings such as hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops stand hidden in the woods on the bank. According to the guide, more than 10 of the old bridges that used to connect the different areas of the tiny oasis still exist. The dam that was used for irrigation and as a flood sluice is preserved as a relic of early agricultural civilization."
Water is the soul of Xixi park and covers 70 percent of area. Six creeks weave through the park with numerous fish pools scattered between them.
Here is Xiao Mei, a tour guide in our boat.
"In history, this wetland park has an area of more than 60 square kilometers, but we plan to open only about 10 square kilometers to the public. Now, only eight square kilometers are open to the public. If we regard the Xixi area as a circle, it would take you more than five or six hours to walk to the center."
Xixi is a place rich with fish and shrimp. One can fish here during all the four seasons—a tradition that was retained after the park was formally established.
Xixi also has a profusion of plum trees. There are more than 3,000 plum trees, covering 200 square meters of land.
Persimmon trees also grow here. During autumn more than 6,000 persimmon trees are in full bloom. The park usually organizes a persimmon festival to attract more visitors to pick the mature fruit.
Our guide Lu Liang says:
"Every year when we celebrate the persimmon festival, we don't pick all the persimmons. Because the persimmons are also a special food the local fish love to eat, we usually keep some for them. When the fruit becomes mature enough and drops into the water, the fish gather to eat it all."
Xixi is also a heaven for birds. There are many bird-watching pavilions in the park. Park officials estimate the number of birds have reached 126 or roughly 50 percent of the total species in the city.
"White egrets are very often to be seen sitting on the tips of the trees and water wheat. They seem to be so relaxed, watching us quietly passing along the waterways. Here in Xixi, I feel like we are the animals who are examined by them, and they are the hosts ruling this land."
When we reach a village called Shentankou, we get out of the boat. Some camphor trees with their special smell grow along the harbor.
Lu Liang tells us a story about the camphor trees.
"The local residents usually would plant a camphor tree in their backyard if a baby girl was born, and then when she got married, her parents would chop it down and make a camphor suitcase for her to keep her belongings in. The special fragrance of the wood would prevent some bugs from eating the cotton clothes in the box."
Hezhu Tower, is located in the center of the village. We climbed up to the top of it for a panoramic view of the whole Xixi area. Looking down from above, the wetland is like a chessboard, where green plants fill the grids and the water surface shines. Gray tiles, white walls and delicate courtyards and houses reflect the elegance of Chinese-style architecture.
I imagined the lives of the local residents—the fishing boats, the beautiful women growing silkworms in the yards, and the old nuns singing holy songs at the Autumn Spring Nunnery in a remote corner of the Xixi waterway. If I not had seen the city buildings to the far east of the wetland, I would still have thought this was an isolated paradise far, far away from the noisy, dusty world.
Lu Liang points to the east of Xixi and says…
"We can see that the whole Xixi area is surrounded by the city. In fact, many property developers are exploiting the land near Xixi. But to be honest, we don't want commercial things to invade this piece of land too much. It's a healthy ecological system, and all the living beings here enjoy their lives very much. But as a precious wetland in city, it's really difficult to prevent the lure of money and keep a perfect environment at the same time."
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