Mishi River Water Conservancy Scenic Area, Qingzhou City

Mishi River Water Conservancy Scenic Area, Qingzhou City

The Mishi River Water Conservancy Scenic Area is a national AAA-level tourist attraction and a national water conservancy scenic area.

The Mishi River Water Conservancy Scenic Area is located in Qingzhou City, Weifang, built upon the Mishi River water conservancy project. It is a natural river and lake-type water conservancy scenic area. The scenic river stretches 18 km in length, covers a total area of 15.03 km², including 9.8 km² of water surface.

The development of the scenic area is based on the pristine ecology of the Mishi River, emphasizing and bringing to life the theme of "water". It integrates unique cultural elements of Qingzhou such as water culture, Buddhist culture, flower culture, and top scholar culture, transforming the Mishi River into a river of ecological culture, sports and leisure, and spiritual experience. From south to north, the scenic area features four main attractions: Huadu Lake where mountains and waters coexist, Jimitan where sweet melons scent the air, Huanglou Bay with lotus pond charm, and Mishui Garden reflecting the shadows of Mount Tai and the sea. The construction of these attractions highlights the concept of "a land of rivers, mountains, flowers, and refined coastal music", using design techniques of "poetic memory, water memory, Zen memory, and scholar memory". Nature, ecology, culture, and the charm of water form the continuous landscape theme from south to north, presenting an ink-painting-like scroll of "the meandering Mishi River and the flowery wetland banks".

The Qingzhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government attach great importance to the development of the scenic area. After more than two years of construction, the scenic area has achieved characteristics such as large scale, abundant resources, and unique scenery, becoming an important part of Qingzhou’s tourism assets. The scenic area boasts rich tourism resources. Rubber dams along the river create expansive water surfaces through layered water retention. Existing features include rivers, lakes, wetlands, as well as shallows, islands, and midstream islets. Visitors can enjoy celestial views such as morning glow, sunset clouds, rainy scenes, and winter landscapes, as well as rare birds like white storks, cranes, red-crowned cranes, and swans. Newly built fountains, pavilions, towers, scenic rocks, plazas, sports parks, and science museums showcase local customs and cultural elements, creating an architectural style that is "ancient" and "Qingzhou-esque" with "white walls, gray tiles, green trees, and bluestone". Once completed, the scenic area offers breathtaking natural beauty such as shimmering lakes and majestic waterfalls, as well as the inclusive and diverse culture of the Mishi River.

Approved as the 10th batch of Shandong Provincial Water Conservancy Scenic Areas in 2013, and the 14th batch of National Water Conservancy Scenic Areas in 2014; it is also a national wetland park.

Source: Shandong Provincial Department of Water Resources