Feilong Lake National Wetland Park

Feilong Lake National Wetland Park

Feilong Lake National Wetland Park is a national-level wetland park.

Feilong Lake National Wetland Park is located in Yuqing County on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, along the middle reaches of the Wu River. In 2009, with the closing and impounding of the Goupitan Hydropower Station — a landmark project under China’s "West-to-East Power Transmission" initiative — Guizhou Province’s largest artificial lake was officially formed. Shaped like a flying dragon, it was thus named Feilong Lake.

Feilong Lake National Wetland Park is an artificial reservoir-type wetland. Its normal water level is at 610 m above sea level, covering a water area of 19 km²; at its highest water level of 630 m, the water area expands to 23.1 km². The planned total area is 2,742.9 hectares, with wetlands accounting for 84.1% of the park. It also includes riverine wetlands, with major tributaries such as the Aoqi River, Xianfeng River, and Zhaoxi River flowing into the planned area.

Within the wetland park, there are 36 species of ferns across 28 genera and 20 families; 7 species of gymnosperms across 6 genera and 5 families; and 265 species of angiosperms across 216 genera and 78 families. This includes nationally protected plants such as the first-class protected Southern Yew and Ginkgo, as well as second-class protected species like Beech and Nanmu. The planning area is home to 136 species of terrestrial wild vertebrates, including 23 mammals, 64 birds, 13 reptiles, 12 amphibians, and 24 fish.

In 2011, Yuqing County commissioned the Guizhou Forestry Survey and Planning Institute to develop the "Guizhou Feilong Lake National Wetland Park Master Plan." In June 2012, the "Guizhou Yuqing Feilong Lake National Wetland Park Master Plan" passed the provincial review. In September 2012, the Wetland Conservation Department of the State Forestry Administration organized experts to conduct an on-site evaluation of Feilong Lake Wetland Park. In December 2012, the State Forestry Administration approved the "Guizhou Feilong Lake National Wetland Park Master Plan" and agreed to launch a pilot project.

The wetland park is divided into four functional zones: conservation zone, education and exhibition zone, rational use zone, and management service zone.

The conservation zone covers an area of 1,230.6 hectares, accounting for 45% of the park’s total area. This area focuses on water quality protection and conservation, strengthening the preservation and restoration of peripheral forest and grass vegetation. It effectively protects favorable habitats for animals such as fish and birds, maintains the integrity of the wetland-forest composite ecosystem structure and function, and enhances the restoration of wetland ecological functions and biodiversity.

The education and exhibition zone spans 595.1 hectares, making up 22% of the park’s total area. Within this zone, the park leverages its wetland resources and landscapes to offer comprehensive indoor and outdoor exhibitions that introduce wetland science knowledge, aiming to raise visitors’ awareness and understanding of wetland conservation.

The management service zone covers 54.7 hectares, or 2% of the park’s total area, serving as the area for comprehensive park management and visitor services.

The rational use zone spans 862.5 hectares, accounting for 31% of the park’s total area. It is mainly divided into the Feilongzhai area and the Aoqi River area. In the Feilongzhai area, within the framework of strict natural ecosystem protection, a certain degree of tourism service facility construction is carried out, with specific wetland eco-tourism projects set up to build a rational utilization industry chain and enhance the self-sustaining capacity of the wetland park. The Aoqi River area focuses on demonstrating comprehensive wetland utilization, with rational planning of aquaculture zones and moderate development of eco-tourism activities.

Following the basic principles of "protection first, scientific restoration, moderate development, and rational use" for wetland park construction, Yuqing County established the Guizhou Yuqing Feilong Lake National Wetland Park Management Office, a public institution at the division level with a staff quota of eight. The county actively seeks national, provincial, and municipal support for wetland resource conservation, strengthens the strict protection of wetland ecosystems and biodiversity, and has currently implemented a full navigation ban on tributaries within the core area of the conservation zone to reduce human interference with natural processes.

To improve the protection and utilization levels of the wetland park, three expressways — Yuqing to Kaili, Daozhen to Weng’an, and others — have been successively constructed within Yuqing County, laying the foundation for tourism development in the rational use zone. Currently, the construction of the park’s west, south, and north gates has been completed, along with the basic completion of infrastructure such as the visitor service centers, wetland ecological parks, and parking lots in the Feilongzhai and Langshuiwan areas within the rational use zone. Key attractions such as the Macaque Peninsula, Dragon-shaped Corridor, and Folk Village have also been largely completed.

Over the next three years, the construction and protection of the wetland park will proceed in an orderly manner according to the "Guizhou Yuqing Feilong Lake National Wetland Park Master Plan." Centered around the biodiversity of the Wu River valley wetland ecosystem, the park will be developed with features such as canyon cliffs, karst valley vegetation landscapes, reservoir dams, and Miao ethnic customs. It will integrate multiple functions including wetland conservation, flood regulation and storage, energy development, wetland ecological function display, eco-tourism, scientific research and education, leisure vacation, and cultural entertainment into a cohesive national wetland park.

Attraction Location

Feilong Lake, Huashan Township, Yuqing County, Guizhou Province