Zhuhu Wetland Ecological Park

Zhuhu Wetland Ecological Park

Zhuhu Wetland Ecological Park is a national AAA-level tourist attraction and a national wetland park.

Approved as a provincial-level wetland park in 2013. It covers a total area of 5,156 hectares and consists of four parts: ecological conservation zone, science education and publicity zone, rational utilization zone, and management service zone. The 1,500-acre lake at the core of the wetland park features meandering waterways, shimmering blue waves, and golden reflections on the water—offering a truly unique landscape.

Introduction to Zhuhu Wetland Ecological Park:

The Zhuhu Farm Wetland Ecological Park is located in the eastern part of the state-owned Zhuhu Farm in Hubei Province (Zhuhu Office, Xiaonan District, Xiaogan City). It is part of a planned 15,000-mu urban agricultural development zone that integrates high-efficiency green agriculture, premium aquaculture, and flood regulation. The water area alone accounts for 3,000 mu. The entire project will be completed in three phases. The first phase involves restoring 1,500 mu of wetlands in the Lingjiao Lake production team area through farmland-to-lake conversion. The second phase integrates the Zhuhu Fish Farm area into the ecological park via resource consolidation, bringing the total water surface to 3,000 mu. The third phase focuses on developing sightseeing, leisure, and resort industries, centering on Lingjiao Lake to establish a 7,000-mu flower and seedling industry base, a 3,000-mu high-efficiency agricultural demonstration area around the lake, and a 2,000-mu sightseeing and leisure resort zone.

The ecological park enjoys a superior location and convenient transportation. It is 35 km south of downtown Wuhan, only 8 km from the Wuhan–Xiaogan intercity high-speed railway, 32 km from Tianhe International Airport—the largest aviation hub in Central China—and 18 km from Xiaogan city proper. It faces the South City New District across the river. The area is traversed by two national highways, the 107 and 316, and Provincial Highway 107 runs through the entire region. The Hankou–Danjiangkou Railway passes through the park, and the soon-to-be-completed Lunhe River shipping terminal provides direct access to the Yangtze River.

The ecological park boasts a beautiful environment and pleasant climate. It is bordered by the Lunhe River to the south and the Fuhe River to the north, offering year-round scenic beauty and abundant water resources. As an alluvial plain with a subtropical monsoon climate, it experiences distinct seasons, ample rainfall (approximately 1,106 mm annually), and an average annual temperature of 16.2°C. The area receives about 143 million cubic meters of water annually, with 1.7412 million cubic meters of water utilized. As the confluence of the Fuhe and Lunhe rivers, the park has abundant groundwater resources. The groundwater is of the Quaternary loose rock pore type, with an aquifer thickness ranging from 5.5 to 13.5 meters—thicker from southwest to northeast. The structure is loose, with well-developed pores and strong permeability, yielding 550–1,100 cubic meters per day. The groundwater resources hold great potential for utilization. The soil in the project area consists of lacustrine and paddy types, formed from recent alluvial deposits and Quaternary clay. The soils are tidal and white-loose types, slightly acidic to neutral, with 2%–3% organic matter, 75–100 pm alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen, 15–20 pm available phosphorus, and a pH of 5.8–6.8—ideal for growing high-quality rice and vegetables. Environmental testing by the National “Green Food” Development Center shows that the air contains more than three times the negative ions found in surrounding areas, with no dustfall, sulfur dioxide, heavy metals, or agricultural chemical pollution. The soil is rich in over 20 essential trace elements such as copper, iron, zinc, and selenium, meeting national quality standards for both water and soil. It is the home of the national geographical indication product “Zhuhu Glutinous Rice” and the birthplace of the industrially produced “Xiaogan Rice Wine,” a time-honored Chinese brand. The park features an extensive network of roads, canals, and tree-lined areas, with a forest coverage rate of 25%. It serves as the agricultural open development experimental zone of Xiaonan District, a provincial ecological agriculture science and technology demonstration farm, and has been designated by the provincial government as an “Hubei Provincial Agricultural Standardization Demonstration Township.”

The ecological park embraces forward-thinking concepts and progresses in an orderly manner. It plans to establish a series of distinctive industrial bases that integrate modern agriculture, lakeside charm, sightseeing and leisure, tourism and vacation, hands-on farming culture experiences, the ambiance of fishermen singing at dusk, and aquatic research—meeting urban dwellers’ desire to reconnect with nature and unwind. The ecological park combines four key zones: garden landscapes, fishing leisure, commercial logistics, and cultural tourism. First is the Garden Landscape Zone. In the southeast of the ecological park, following modern gardening models, 6,000 mu of high-end flowers and seedlings with economic, ornamental, ecological, and scientific value are cultivated, forming a 3-hour hiking and sightseeing corridor. Second is the Sightseeing and Leisure Zone. Along the lake and shoreline, a 3,000-mu high-efficiency green agriculture and geothermal greenhouse fruit and vegetable picking base, 3,000 mu of natural lake surface, and 2,000 mu of sightseeing and leisure resort area are developed. Efforts are made to promote eco-friendly and healthy aquaculture, creating a holiday economic belt integrating water sightseeing, fishing, leisure, and entertainment. Third is the Commercial Logistics Zone. Centered around the Lingjiao Lake ecological park, efforts accelerate the construction of a livable Zhuhu town. By 2015, the central town area expanded to 3.5 square kilometers, with a resident population of 10,000. The town is nestled by the river (Lunhe), beside the lake (Lingjiao), surrounded by forests (the 10,000-mu flower and seedling base) and greenery (the 10,000-mu Zhuhu glutinous rice planting area to the west)—a serene habitat filled with birdsong and croaking frogs. Fourth is the Cultural Tourism Zone. The park develops attractions showcasing lakeside culture, red culture, folk culture, food culture, and leisure culture, forming a cohesive cultural tourism landscape. It invites visitors from near and far to come in spring to Zhuhu to admire miles of red nanmu trees and thousands of acres of cherry blossoms, watch swallows hovering gracefully; to visit in summer for a boat ride on the vast blue waters, fishing in the misty rain amid the fragrance of lotus flowers; to stay in autumn, dancing with egrets and savoring the intoxicating blend of sky and earth, gazing at the drifting white clouds and romantic autumn waters; and to explore in winter, experiencing the aroma of glutinous rice, the bounty of fish, and the beauty of snowy reeds against an open, low-hanging sky. Showcasing the “spirit of Chu,” and crafting a “dreamy water town,” Zhuhu Wetland Ecological Park is being developed into a distinctive industrial base that fuses modern agriculture, lakeside charm, sightseeing and leisure, tourism and vacation, hands-on farming culture, the ambiance of fishermen singing at dusk, and aquatic research.