Hefei Binhu National Forest Park

Hefei Binhu National Forest Park

Hefei Binhu National Forest Park is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a national forest park.

Hefei Binhu National Forest Park, located southeast of Hefei’s main urban area, covers an area of 1,072 hectares, including 799 hectares of forest and 263 hectares of water bodies. It is the only urban water-network forest in Anhui Province spanning ten thousand mu. Built upon an artificial forest formed in 2002, the park underwent a remarkable transformation in just 17 months to become China’s first national forest park established through farmland conversion and ecological restoration. With this, Hefei officially became the only city in China whose central urban area hosts two national forest parks.

The park is situated in the southeastern part of Baohe District, Hefei, adjacent to the confluence of the Nanfei River and Chaohu Lake. Since the implementation of the farmland-to-forest program in 2002, it has developed into a forest expanse covering ten thousand mu. Combining the features of a suburban forest park and a water-network forest park, it plays a vital role in protecting the ecological environment along the shore of Chaohu Lake, conserving water resources, maintaining ecological balance, improving urban air quality, regulating climate, and reducing wind and noise. It also offers multiple functions such as leisure, sightseeing, fitness, and science education. The government has invested a total of 180 million yuan to complete two phases of forest park construction, establishing a comprehensive forest tourism support system. Its successful greenway development model has been promoted nationwide by the National Forestry Administration. To date, nearly a thousand inspection teams from across the country have visited the park for study purposes.

Since its opening in October 2012, the park has received over 3 million visitors. Forest-based tourism activities have gained immense popularity, making it an important destination for leisure, entertainment, fitness, and recreation for local residents and tourists in the surrounding areas. It enjoys high social recognition and reputation within the province. To ensure that the benefits of forestry development are more widely shared with the public, the Baohe District Government has pledged to keep Binhu National Forest Park permanently open to citizens free of charge.

Moving forward, Binhu National Forest Park will advance intelligent park development by implementing automatic visitor flow control, launching a WeChat platform, achieving full Wi-Fi coverage, and creating an integrated system for park shuttle buses, bicycle rentals, and dining services. The goal is to establish the province’s first “Smart Forest Park” within the year.

As the flagship project of the Chaohu Lake Ecological Civilization Demonstration Zone, Hefei Binhu Forest Park has, since August 2012, built two major themed scenic areas—Natural Ecology and Historical Culture—as well as 12 major landscapes. The park is home to up to 281 plant species.

On April 12, 2014, Hefei Binhu National Forest Park, China’s first national forest park established through farmland conversion and ecological restoration, was officially unveiled. This marked the first successful elevation of an artificial forest to national forest park status.