Once stinking landfill to become an ecological woodland
Construction on a suburban park to be developed from a landfill compound in the Pudong New Area has started and it is expected to open next year.
The park in the Laogang area will feature hills and woodland.
There will be a "greenery protective system" in the north, south and west of the park. Sited by the side of the East China Sea, the park is Shanghai's first park to be themed on environmental protection regeneration.
It will be built to improve the environment and ecological layout in the area, and to satisfy the public demand for an ecological woodland, officials said.
With a total investment of 4.3 billion yuan (US$648 million), it covers 16.1 square kilometers, and 95 percent of the project is scheduled to be finished by the end of the year.
The area is currently home to the Laogang solid waste comprehensive use base where 70 percent of domestic garbage in Shanghai is transported for recycling treatment. The site handles about 10,000 tons of garbage daily.
The base, the biggest of its kind in China, was once a landfill compound with contaminated soil. It stank and was infested with mosquitoes and flies.
That all changed in 2009. A soil repairing program was installed, and an eco film covered the landfill compound with an 80-centimeter soil layer above it to prevent methane gas leakage.
Plants such as dawn redwood, mastic trees, glossy privets and milk vetch have been planted to turn the area into a large botanic garden.
Rivers and swamps here have attracted a large number of wildlife such as ducks and grey cranes as the environment has improved.