The Most Beautiful Jade Lake – Colorful Long Beach Scenic Area

The Most Beautiful Jade Lake – Colorful Long Beach Scenic Area

The Most Beautiful Jade Lake – Colorful Long Beach Scenic Area is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a national water conservancy scenic area.

The Jade Lake Water Conservancy Scenic Area is situated in Hongguang Town, Nanjiang County, Bazhong City, approximately 55 km from downtown Nanjiang and 60 km from Bazhong urban area. Covering an area of 29 square kilometers, it primarily consists of a water-contact tourism area, a scenic sightseeing area, an urban leisure area, a wetland ecological area, and surrounding landscape zones, characterized by simple local customs and a strong fishing culture. As part of its development, the scenic area implemented several environmental remediation measures such as regulating sewer outlets discharging into the river and lake, relocating and resettling residents within the area, which significantly improved the water quality and aquatic ecology. By organizing events such as the Jade Lake Fish-Catching Festival, the Jade Lake Dragon Boat Festival, and the Kitchen Soup Festival, the area attracts 330,000 visitors annually, generates 68 million yuan in tourism revenue, and supports over 600 jobs, demonstrating significant social, economic, and ecological benefits.

Nanjiang’s Jade Lake is the third national water conservancy scenic area approved in Bazhong City following Pingchang’s Jiangkou River Town and Bazhong’s Huahu Lake. The city has also successfully established two provincial-level water conservancy scenic areas: Liujin Lake and Wanshou Lake. According to the Bazhong Water Conservancy Scenic Area Construction Development Plan (2016–2025), the city plans to develop 29 water conservancy scenic areas, including Hongyu Lake and Tianxing Lake, covering various types such as reservoir-type, urban river-lake type, natural river-lake type, and wetland type. Currently, work has begun on the development of eight large and medium-sized reservoir scenic areas, including Tianxing Lake.

Since 2012, the scenic area has focused on rural tourism development and vigorously promoted the creation of the Jade Lake–Long Beach National AAAA-level Tourist Attraction. During the development process, over 30 kilometers of rural tourism roads were renovated and paved, and 11 parking lots covering a total of 15,000 square meters were built. Additionally, 12 kilometers of scenic walking trails, 22 observation decks, 8 rest pavilions (galleries), 12 toilets, and signage systems were constructed. The water supply and power facilities within the scenic area were upgraded, and environmental protection and safety facilities were uniformly planned and constructed. Two visitor centers, three tourist distribution centers, three tourist information service centers, three leisure squares, and supporting entertainment facilities such as folk performances, shopping centers, leisure and entertainment venues, and guide signage systems were also completed. Specialized industry initiatives included the development of the Colorful Forestry, Yunding Tea Industry, aquaculture, and eco-agricultural experience zones. Projects such as fishing experience zones, sports and fitness zones, water recreation zones, and lakeside sightseeing areas have been developed. Rural resort hotels, homestay-style guesthouses, and farmstay restaurants have been built, collectively providing reception capacity for 5,000 people.

Alongside the development and construction of the scenic area, various effective measures were implemented to strengthen management and provide comprehensive training to staff, regulate the market, build a competitive mechanism that encourages mutual learning, quality excellence, and honest business practices, establish and strictly enforce a full range of rules and regulations, and bolster safety production management organizations and safety measures to prevent any accidents. In line with the goals of developing software systems, personnel were organized, responsibilities clarified, and efforts made to enhance tourism service quality.

After nearly two years of rapid development and construction, the Jade Lake–Long Beach tourist area has seen significant improvements in its tourism infrastructure, services, and supporting facilities. A total investment of 521 million yuan has been made, resulting in the formation of a comprehensive rural leisure and holiday tourism destination integrating food, accommodation, transportation, sightseeing, shopping, and entertainment. The area officially opened to the public in February 2013. In 2013, the scenic area hosted 550,000 visitors and generated 104.5 million yuan in comprehensive tourism income. In 2014, it welcomed 610,000 visitors and achieved 152 million yuan in comprehensive tourism income, contributing significantly to local economic development and helping lift local residents out of poverty.

The Beautiful Jade Lake – Colorful Long Beach Scenic Area spans four towns. Jade Lake and Jade Lake Peninsula are under the jurisdiction of Changchi Town, Jade Cypress Fishing Village is managed by Hongguang Town, while Flower Bridge flowing Waters and Colorful Long Beach are governed by Zhengzhi Town and Zhugong Township. To facilitate the development and construction of the tourist area, the Nanjiang County Party Committee and County Government assigned Sichuan Guangwushan Tourism Development Co., Ltd. to manage and develop the Jade Lake–Long Beach Scenic Area uniformly. The administrative jurisdictions of the various sections remain unchanged. Subsidiaries include the Nanjiang County Jade Lake Tourism Resource Development Co., Ltd., the Nanjiang County Yutang Tourism Co., Ltd., and the Nanjiang County Colorful Long Beach Tourism Resource Development Co., Ltd., which are specifically responsible for the development, construction, and operation of their respective sections. The working mechanism has been refined, and a dedicated workforce of 45 management and operational staff has been deployed, including 8 managerial personnel, 9 junior and senior tour guides, 12 security officers, and 16 sanitation workers.