Every time Ihear about the story of the Three Kingdoms, I long for going toJingzhou! Jingzhou, established and emerging owing to water, started from the 900-mile Yunmeng Lake in Pre-Qin Period. Then, it has nurtured splendid civilization of Chu, Three Kingdoms, Red Culture, and wetland culture. The 483-km Yangtze River crossing the whole territory, 184 lakes and more than 110 reservoirs being scattered, and more than 160 rivers crisscrossing, forms a wetland culture landscape of “city and wetland co-existing harmoniously” in Jingzhou.
Hubei Province boasts the largest number of lakes in inland regions of China while Jingzhou covers a wetland area of 342,000 square meters, a wetland rate of 24.15%, the “largest”in Hubei Province. Located at the core area of “global top 200 ecology” middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Jingzhou owns perfect wetland ecological protection system with one important international wetland, twoimportant national wetlands, eleven state-level, provincial-level, city-leveland county-level wetland natural reserves, and eleven national and provincial wetland parks. Its wetland protection area reaches 213,700 hectares with a wetland protection rate of 62.5%.
Jingzhou has three wildlife-oriented wetland natural reserves as well as Honghu Lake, the 7th largest freshwater lake in China and the largest one in Hubei Province. The song, A Lake So Blessed, aroused people’s yearning for the red culture and wetland ecological culture of Jingzhou.
From 2005 to2016, Jingzhou performed three operations to dismantling the fishing seine in Honghu Lake to recover a natural wetland area of nearly 200 thousand mu. Honghu Lake with green water,luxuriant grass, fat fishes, and happy birds once again appeared in front ofthe public. At the same time, it carried out the relocation measures of“substituting subsidies with rewards” for fisherman a shore with an investment of RMB 300 million. Former fishermen changed into the current community citizens while the past wetland destroyers changed into today’s wetland protectors.
In recent years,Jingzhou has made an overall investment of RMB 9.2 billion to carry out comprehensive treatment to Yangtze River and its tributaries as well as wetland protection and water ecological rehabilitation projects such as water source conservation, rivers connectivity, polluted water treatment, returning grainfields to the lake, returning farming lands to lake, and returning fishing tolakes, and removing all purse-net in Jingzhou to achieve “neither fishing polenor fishing net”. The area of all kinds of wetlands in Jingzhou increased 79 thousand hectares, reaching 421 thousand hectares. Let wetland go into citywhile let city embrace wetland! Jingzhou has also hosted young volunteer themedactivities such as “Everyone Participating in Green Life” and “Everybody TakingActions to Protect the Mother Lake” to create an atmosphere of all societyparticipating in the construction of international wetland city. Jingzhou,connecting with large rivers and lakes and closely depending on lakes and swamps, is harmonious with all varieties of wildlife. Sound wetland ecology boosts the development of Jingzhou’s eco-tourism while the wetland natural reserves and wetland parks have also become the tourist destinations of thewhole regions. Now, it has six 4A wetland ecological tourism scenic areas, receiving 2.23 million visitors each year. (Reporter: Li Xuhua)