4 Zhuhai parks to go through ecological renovations

Four Zhuhai parks will become demonstration sites in a provincial campaign to build a green and beautiful Guangdong, it was announced on March 21, which was also the 11th International Forest Day.

Guangdong province will finish forest optimizations and improvements in a 40,100-mu (2,673-hectare, 6,606-acre) area; renovate 15 kilometers (9 miles) of its coastlines; renovate more than 1,000 mu (67 hectares) of its old mines; and grow an additional 8,000-mu (533-hectare, 1,317-acre) of mangrove forests by 2027.

Zhuhai, situated in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, has a continuous mountain range as well as hills, rivers, countryside areas, and wetlands, forming a unique coastal urban view and ecological environment.

Hu Xintian, vice mayor of Zhuhai, noted that the city will create more open green spaces citywide to further improve people's living environment. 

Located on the southwest corner of Fenghuang Mt, Xiangshan Lake Park has an area of 674,000 square meters (167 acres). It now has a green area of 126,000 sq m (31 acres) and a lake area of 80,000 sq m (20 acres).

Rendering of Xiangshan Lake Park after renovation [Photo courtesy Guanhai App]

The park will improve forest structures and grow more flowers and plants based on its current layout to give better visual aesthetics. Settings around the park such as Xiangshan Lake Rest Station, north Shixi Park, and the west entrance of Dajing Mt Community Park, will be built by the end of 2024.

Honghua Mt Forest Park in the Zhuhai National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone was transformed from an old quarry. The 2.3-hectare (5.7-acre) park now features rich Party elements, and has attracted a lot of visitors since its opening in 2022.

Trees such as ficus microphylla, ficus alba, and flame trees will be planted at the park's entrance to beautify the environment, and more educational elements featuring Party culture will be added this year.

Jinhu Wetland Park in Jinwan District is a comprehensive urban park featuring sightseeing, ecological science popularization, leisure, and sport facilities. Its first phase is now open to the public. 

It will renovate around 3,000-sq-m (.74-acre) of grassland and wetlands to create a habitat for birds. The park will also build a base for tree planting volunteers in three phases. The first phase will feature 480 trees alongside the main road; while the second and third phases will each include 300 Bauhinia variegate trees.

A 2,000-sq-m (.5-acre) mangrove education base will also be built before September this year, along with a 1,200-sq-m (.3-acre) corridor for science popularization education. 

In addition, phase II of Heyi Urban Park in Doumen District will be built into an "urban museum" by integrating the natural landscape and architecture designs, providing ideal spaces for local residents and visitors.

Located opposite to its first phase, the 31,760-sq-m (7.8-acre) area is currently still a wasteland. Upon operation, the project will contain a green area of 19,806 sq m (5 acres), with jogging tracks and children's amusement facilities. 

As of now, the park has finished planting more than 2,000 sq m of greenery and has finished construction on 65 percent of its basic infrastructure, such as toilets and trails. Other works, including stone laying for squares, roads, and parking lots are underway, preparing for the park's opening in the second half of 2023.