Green light for the city's belt of parks
Shanghai Mianqing Park
Shanghai is accelerating the construction of an ecological park belt circling the city with the goal of becoming "a park city."
Another 10 parks on the belt are scheduled to be constructed by the end of this year, creating an oasis amidst the concrete jungle, local greenery authorities revealed on Friday.
The park belt follows the 98-kilometer green belt of the Outer Ring Road and connects 10 green lands and 17 ecological interval zones, according to the 2021-2035 Shanghai ecological space blueprint.
The first group of six parks in the belt have opened to the public, while construction on the second batch of 10 parks will be completed by the year end, according to the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau.
It will become a large ecological circle linked with the city's "Five New Cities" forest ecological park belt.
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There are more than 20 bird species.
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"A 'park city,' where residents will see flowers when they open windows, step on green land when they walk out, and smell the fragrance of flowers in all seasons, is the pursuit of Shanghai," Deng Jianping, director of the bureau, said earlier.
Shanghai Mianqing Park covering 60.4 hectares in Kangqiao Town, the Pudong New Area, is one of the six parks in the belt that is open to the public.
The park features quite a number of landscapes with wetland and forests.
A bamboo grove
One of them presents an enchanting autumn scenery featuring colorful foliage plants such as dawn redwood and soapberry and a rockery garden, offering an ideal place for a leisurely stroll.
An island covering 7,000 square meters as part of the park is planted with Chinese crabapple and features a pavilion and corridor of Chinese gardening style.
"Hengmian Ancient Town is only 3 kilometers from here, and we have included the culture of the town into the design of the park," said Shen Qingyun, deputy director of the Pudong New Area Forestry Station.
The park also has a lotus appreciation spot, a sports field covering 4,225 square meters and a playground for children.
"Thanks to the good ecological system of the park, it has attracted over 20 wildlife species such as egret, long-tailed shrike, moorhen and light-vented bulbul," said Shen.
A walkway in Shanghai Mianqing Park.
The park has a daily visitor flow of between 500 and 700 weekdays, and 7,000 to 8,000 on weekends and holidays.
Public toilets, stores and vending machines were added with more parking spaces created to cater to the demand of visitors, said Shen.
The first group of six opening parks are located in Baoshan, Putuo, Jiading and Minhang districts and Pudong. They recorded about 77,000 visits during the May Day holiday, according to the bureau.
Construction of the 10 green lands with ecological system restoration functions has been accelerated as well.
One of them is a 4.2-square-kilometer green space in Sanlin area of Pudong, which features a 65-hectare forest.
The forest, with more than 3,500 cedar plants as well as maple, goldenrain trees and soapberry, is well underway.
A scenic lake
