Beijing’s Yongding River Wanping Lake Park Becomes a Tent and Barbecue Camping Ground

Located south of the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Expressway bridge over the Yongding River, Wanping Lake opened during the National Day holiday in 2011. It is a key component of Beijing’s first large riverfront park — the urban landscape section of the Yongding River Green Ecological Development Belt.

In summer, every weekend, the parking lot outside Wanping Lake Park is almost always full. At the park entrance, vendors have staked out prime spots, displaying kites, hammocks, bubble guns, and more on the ground. Inside the park, an expanse of water stretches out before you. Along the shore, aquatic plants reach waist height, reeds stand quietly, and the purple blooms of pickerelweed dot the scene like stars, while the cattail spikes — as thick as little fingers — cluster together cheerfully. Walking across the stepping stones made of large rocks, a silver fish might occasionally leap from the waterweeds with a “plop” back into the lake, drawing joyful gasps from visitors. The shore is lined with uneven clusters of trees and lush green lawns, interspersed with patches of unnamed flowers in reds and yellows, adding splashes of color to the park.

Around 11 a.m., the tranquil yet slightly lively Wanping Lake becomes fully bustling. Families with children begin setting up camp on the lawns: a blue two-person tent goes up here, a picnic mat and inflatable mattress spread out there; a hammock hangs from a not-so-thick tree trunk here, while a dining table is set beneath sparse shade there… And this is just a regular weekend. During previous visits on May Day and Dragon Boat Festival holidays, the reporter observed that nearly every decent-sized patch of shade was taken up by tents and picnic mats, crowded together like a camping convention.

Once camp is set, it’s time for lunch. Most visitors bring their own food — bread, drinks, flatbreads, and the like. And barbecues, essential for picnics, are everywhere. At one “campsite” near a fence, three tents are pitched together along with a hammock, where a group of over ten people gather for a meal. An elderly woman gets things started by lighting the barbecue grill. As she fans the flames, the fire leaps half a foot high. Then the main grillers take over, deftly placing skewers on the grill and starting to cook... A nearby camper even barbecues shirtless, the aroma of meat soon wafting through the air. Others bring alcohol burners and cooking pots to prepare their “lunch.”

As visitors come and go, they leave behind trash that can’t be taken away. On the lakeside north of Wanping Lake, plastic bags and drink bottles often float among the reeds, while gravel under the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Expressway bridge is scattered with bamboo skewers and cigarette butts. The cleaning staff say, “That’s nothing — it’s the trash in the lake that’s really hard to clean.” With only four cleaners available, they can only frequently clear the park’s waste.

A citizen who came with his family of five had just pitched his tent. Arriving a bit late, all the shaded spots were gone, so he had to set up in direct sunlight.

“If you don’t pitch a tent, where else can you stay?” said the visitor, who had come from Chaoyang and planned to head home by evening. “I really like the environment here — there’s water on one side, and Lüdi Country Park on the other. Kids and elders can both have fun. But there are too few service facilities. Other than toilets, there isn’t even a single sheltered area. The first time I came, I didn’t know better and left after an hour. This time, I brought all the gear — tent, stools, water, lunch…”

“It’s quite a trip to get here, so we want to stay longer. But we also want a hot meal. Alcohol burners are easy to carry, so we just have to be self-sufficient!” said a visitor using an alcohol burner. She lives nearby and often comes here. With no places to eat in the park, she bought her own alcohol burner — adding a bit of “wilderness fun.”

“A whole lake like this is so rare. But you can’t just come here to look, right?” A parent fishing with their child by the lake spoke to the reporter while keeping an eye on their son scooping up small fish.

Officials from the Fengtai District Water Authority told reporters that Wanping Lake is part of a river restoration project aimed at rehabilitating the river’s ecosystem. Public service facilities were not a major consideration in the planning and design, and currently, there are no clear laws or regulations governing its management.

“We’re also troubled by the barbecues and tent pitching. But there are no catering or other service facilities here. You can’t just forbid people from eating!” said the official. “We have no law enforcement power — we can’t ban it, nor do we have operational rights to provide services to redirect the demand. On weekends when it’s crowded, once visitors leave, trash is scattered all over. A 1-ton 1041 truck can be filled to the brim.” He explained that they’ve assigned around ten cleaning staff specifically to monitor Wanping Lake and Xiaoyue Lake to the north. But the park is open, and people come to cool off even past midnight in the summer — it’s truly a bit beyond their control.

The official stated that the water authority has reported the issues at Wanping Lake and other lakes along the Yongding River to relevant departments, and they are discussing adding more supporting facilities to make visits more convenient for tourists.

From the tightly packed vehicles outside the park and the tents standing shoulder to shoulder inside, it’s clear how much citizens love water-friendly parks. From the Five Lakes along the Yongding River to the Grand Canal Forest Park, Nanshaizi Park, and Daxing Niantan Park... In water-scarce Beijing, creating these shimmering bodies of water requires tremendous human and material resources. As we look at the tents on the lawns and the smoky barbecue grills, while blaming some citizens for being “not civilized enough,” shouldn’t we consider adding more shelters and kiosks, placing more benches along flower-lined paths, or designating special areas for tents and barbecues... so that visitors to these water-centric parks can truly enjoy a life by the water?