Dedicated leisure and sightseeing bicycle paths are proposed for Gushan, Beifeng, and the two rivers, with a planned total length of about 328 kilometers; except for Baima River, Jin'an River, and Guangming Port, other inland waterways in Fuzhou will be organized, maintained, and managed by respective districts according to their jurisdictions...
To ensure the systematic and consistent approach to inland waterway improvement, yesterday, the Fuzhou Inland Waterway Comprehensive Improvement Work Command issued the "Fuzhou Inland Waterway Comprehensive Improvement Project Guidelines." In the future, all urban inland waterway improvement projects will refer to these "Guidelines" for implementation.
Building three major systems to create a "Slow Life in Min Capital"
Within the main urban area of Fuzhou, there are 107 inland waterways with a total length of about 244 kilometers, ranking among the highest in terms of water network density among cities in China. The newly released "Guidelines" propose that under the control of the overall plan, three major systems will be built: waterfront walking loops, leisure bicycle paths, and waterway sightseeing.
It is understood that Fuzhou will combine inland waterway improvement with the development of a greenway network, using inland rivers, lakeside green spaces, hills, and linear parks as the foundation to create scenic and leisure-oriented greenways that are “along the river, along the canal, around the lake, reaching the hills, and connecting to parks.” Along the greenways, linear parks will be built in conjunction with green spaces to provide fitness, leisure, entertainment, gatherings, and cooling areas for nearby residents, promoting a "Slow Life in Min Capital."
Sightseeing bicycle paths to connect to greenways in Minhou, Lianjiang, and Yongtai
The "Guidelines" propose building dedicated leisure and sightseeing bicycle paths along Gushan, Beifeng, and the two rivers, while also extending inward through wider greenways within urban clusters, with a planned total length of about 328 kilometers in the planning area, and connecting to the greenway systems of Minhou, Lianjiang, and Yongtai.
The "Guidelines" require that the total width of leisure and sightseeing bicycle paths should not be less than 3 meters, designed according to the terrain along the river, generally controlled between 1.5–5 meters, with one-way lanes between 1.5–3 meters and two-way lanes between 3–5 meters.
Greenery in elderly activity areas: at least 40% evergreen trees
In terms of greening, landscape renovations along inland waterways will retain as many existing large trees as possible. Local tree species should be fully utilized, with attention to the reasonable mix of evergreen and deciduous, fast-growing and slow-growing varieties. All newly added trees should be full-crown saplings. Evergreen trees in elderly activity areas should account for no less than 40%, with shaded areas ideally exceeding 50% of those in children’s activity zones.
The "Guidelines" also stipulate that benches in activity areas should primarily be made of stone or wood, with no sharp or pointed corners at turns, and a basic height of 0.4–0.45 meters. To meet the needs of the elderly, benches of appropriate height should be installed along the routes, with a recommended height of 0.5–0.6 meters. Considering the winter needs of the elderly, it is suggested that some existing stone benches be retrofitted with wooden slats and wooden backrests.
Rainwater storage tanks may be installed to improve drainage capacity
For sewage interception, the inland waterway sewage interception plan should be determined based on factors such as the condition of the waterway, discharge outlets, surrounding land plots, and nearby rainwater and sewage pipeline networks. Where there is ample space on both banks, the interception system can be placed onshore, with interception carried out along the banks.
If there is sufficient space on both banks, large combined sewers can be installed along the banks, with discharge outlets connected to the combined sewers according to the principle of “centralizing as much as possible, dispersing as little as possible.” At the end, rainwater flows into the river, sewage is intercepted, and then pumped into municipal trunk pipes (main pipes).
In principle, no overflow outlets should be installed along the channels. Capacity checks should be conducted to ensure drainage capability during rainy days; otherwise, additional overflow outlets should be appropriately added. Where conditions allow, consideration may be given to installing rainwater storage tanks to enhance drainage capacity.