Once the mining area transformed into a sea of flowers, achieving coordinated development of the ecological environment with "green waters and green mountains" and "golden mountains and silver mountains" | National | Jinshan
CCTV News: Gongchangling District in Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province is a transitional urban area of national resource depletion. Long term mineral exploitation in history has caused serious ecological damage, and the Tanghe River that passes through the city has become a foul smelling sludge soup. After comprehensive promotion of ecological environment construction in the local area in recent years, the once riddled Tanghe River Basin has now become a national wetland park for harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. Take a look at the report sent back by the head office reporter from the scene.
CCTV reporter Ji Yifei: I am currently in the Datanghe National Wetland Park in Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province. In the scorching summer, on the rippling blue waves of the lake, the lotus flowers are shining brightly, and the pavilions emerge from the water, allowing those strolling here to feel a rare sense of coolness and comfort. Unlike my previous understanding, this is a national wetland park built in the city.
Looking at the map in my hand, Liaoyang is a city named after water. In ancient times, it was named Liaoyang because it was located north of the Liao River. The Liao River is one of the seven major rivers in China today. Among the many main and tributaries of the Liao River scattered throughout Liaoyang, the Tang River, which is over 90 kilometers long, runs from north to south throughout the Gongchangling District of Liaoyang City. It is truly the mother river in the hearts of the local people.
Looking at the clear water, green banks, and shallow bottom of the Tanghe River in front of you, you wouldn't know that more than a decade ago, this place looked different. These are several old photos and a set of video materials provided to us by the local water conservancy department. Due to the long-term disorderly mining in history, the ecology of the Tanghe River Basin has deteriorated, management is lacking, sewage is directly discharged into the river, the river is exposed, weeds are overgrown, the river has been cut off several times, and the flood control risks are severe. Tanghe River has become a muddy soup that people cannot avoid.
In recent years, Liaoyang has comprehensively promoted the ecological restoration and management of the Tanghe River Basin in the face of the mother river, which is riddled with wounds and holes. The lifeline of water lies in the mountains. To govern the Tang River, we must first govern the mines. The local government has vigorously implemented geological environment restoration and barren mountain greening projects. The century old mining area has begun to transform, achieving a transformation from mining pits to flower beds, from "mineral powder and dust fogging the sky" to "green mountains, clear waters, and blue skies together". Tanghe has also banned all previous sewage outlets by constructing sewage interception pipelines, comprehensively addressing the problem of river pollution and blockage, and achieving a flood control standard of once every 50 years. The water quality and environmental quality of Tanghe River have significantly improved, maintaining a stable level above the third class water quality standards, presenting an ecological beauty of clear water and smooth river, green banks and lush forests.
It may be hard for you to imagine that the 100 acre Lotus Pond in the wetland park we are currently located in was once a huge accumulation of waste slag and foul smelling mud pit. Now it has become a good place for citizens to relax, cool down, and get close to nature. The revitalized Tanghe River and wetlands offer abundant food options, attracting numerous rare birds to come here. The number of iconic populations - the national second level protected animals, egrets and herons - has increased from a dozen or so a decade ago to over two thousand now. Birds reproduce and migrate here, becoming the best witnesses of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.
In 2017, the Datanghe National Wetland Park was officially established in Liaoyang. The construction here has always followed the principles of protection priority, scientific restoration, moderate development, and reasonable utilization, creating a wetland pattern of "river", "pond", and "beach". The wetland fully utilizes various functions such as maintaining biodiversity, purifying water quality, regulating climate, and flood and drought resistance, and adopts moderate artificial intervention to protect or restore the wetland ecosystem. Currently, there are 49 species of wetland plants, 140 species of birds, and 26 species of fish in the Datang River National Wetland Park. In the process of maintaining wetland ecology, the park maximizes the preservation of the original wetland ecological characteristics and natural scenery, making it an educational base for the public to understand and enhance their ecological awareness of wetlands.
Today's Datanghe National Wetland Park has a total area of nearly 300 hectares, including a water park, a citizen park, a hundred acre lotus pond, and a wetland landscape corridor. Every morning and evening, or on weekends and holidays, tens of thousands of citizens come here for activities, greatly enhancing the sense of gain, happiness, and security of the masses. From a century old mining area to today's city of mountains and rivers, from a national resource depleted city to a national comprehensive tourism demonstration zone, the story of the Datanghe National Wetland Park in Liaoyang that we are telling today is a vivid epitome of practicing the concept of ecological civilization, and also explores a new path for the coordinated development of "green water and green mountains" and "golden mountains and silver mountains" for Liaoning and the Northeast region.
