Beijing's Biggest Wetland Park Opens

Posted on Oct 9, 2010 9:09am

A wetland park named Nanhaizi, which is located in south Beijing's Daxing District, opened to the public for free on Sunday, the Beijing Times reported.

The park, covering an area of 11.65 square kilometers, will be the largest wetland park in Beijing when the second phase of its construction is completed in 2012.

Before the construction of the park began, the region had suffered from environmental degradation. Tons of garbage had been poured into ponds scattered around the region. The soil and underground water were also polluted.

In order to improve the ecological environment, the local government has invested about 600 million yuan just in the first phase of construction for the park.

Around 200,000 new trees have been planted, turning the park into a natural oxygen bar. Visitors to the park also have a chance to meet with some special residents-- Milu, a species of deer unique to China.

The restoration of the wetland system will help improve the quality and quantity of underground water, said the report. During the Ming and Qing Dynasty, Nanhaizi was a royal garden for hunting, where a wide range of wild animals lived.