Xiazhu Lake Wetland
3 min readDeqing tourism depends on the advantage of natural surroundings. According to the long-term plan for the National Wetland Park of XiazhuLake in future, the approximate area of the whole scenic site will be 50 square kilometers including the total wetland area of 36.5 square kilometers and the outer protective region. The central scenic site will occupy an area about 11 square kilometers. Centered on Xiazhu Lake, Wetland Scenic Site of Xiazhu Lake now has an area of 10 square kilometers, covering the water area of 3.4 square kilometers. Wetland Scenic Site of Xiazhu Lake is located in the northeast part of the County, about 20 kilometers away from Mogan Mountain Scenic Site, and 40 kilometers from Hangzhou. The scenic site holds the largest and best protected wetland in the South, and all types of wetland in China. The site is also a combination of natural scenery, religious culture and Fangfeng tales. Thus, it is described as a land of primitiveness, austerity, wildness and mystery.
The Scenic Site of Wetland is characterized by original ecological environment. With the development of local tourism,a new comprehensive plan is being put into effect based on two mountains, one lake, and two belts. According to the features of geography and functional arrangement, the two mountains are Tashan and Fangfengshan. Both of the mountains have good luxuriant vegetation, and different sights. One lake is Xiazhu Lake, which is the most popular tourist spot in this site, and the key protective water area.
As to two belts, one is a transition green way between Xiazhu Lake and Fangfeng Mountain, which is the best location for tourists not only to watch the scenery of Tashan Mountain, but also to see the sight of the lake while they are having a stroll on the way. The other is a sightseeing belt which links the scenic spots around Xiazhu Lake. To achieve the purpose of ecological protection, and to make tourists fully enjoy original rustic charm, the rowing-boats are used as the major transportation to take tourists to the islets in the lake. The site is rich in natural resources and cultural relics. It is one of the birthplaces of the Liangzhu Civilization with 5,000 years. It is also the hometown of ancient Fangfeng Culture, and many historical remains and relics have been well-protected such as the Fangfeng Shrine and ancient steles.
The prominent features in the scenic site are aquatic plants and water fowls. There is a wide variety of wetland plants such as the camphor tree, pterocarya stenoptera, sapium, bamboo, reed that grow on the site, and red lotus, water chestnut and lotus root that grow in water. They belong to 64 species and more than 100 families. It is tentatively estimated that only the higher plants here are over 500 sorts. Ormosia fir, metasequoia, lily magnolia, Chinese redbud, ginkgo, camphor chekiangensis, phoebe chekiangensis and some others are respectively classified into the first, the second and the third grades under the national protection. These plants have an extensive distribution.A vast forest of ancient camphor trees still exists on Zhishan islet. Among them, some oldest trees have survived over hundred years. Wild soybeans are also found in the scenic site of wetland.A natural plot of wild soybean, which covers an area of 300 mu, has been delimited by the local government as the key protective land. The good ecological environment breeds abundant aquatic creatures in the lake, which in turn attracts large flocks of birds to perch on islets of the lake. It is reported that over 160 species of wild fowls have made their homes there.
There are 20 kinds of rare wild fowls under the governmental protection. About 10 thousand small egrets are under the state second-class protection. For a large number of wild fowls mainly inhabit Shangshan and Daoguanshan, the area around the mountains is designated as the protective area for wild birds by the local department concerned.
The mystic Xiazhu Lake gave birth to the culture of Ancient Fangfeng State. It atracts the great attention from the public. Some scholars and experts from home and abroad go there to make the scientific investigation, and some do archaeological studies on the spot. Meanwhile, academic meetings and exchanges on Fangfeng have been organized several times in the scenic site. The combination of culture and tourism makes the place become a hot tourist destination in Yangtze River Delta, and the primitiveness and simplicity of the place is good for tourists to enjoy a return to nature.
