◇ "Water is the soul of the wetland, and the beauty of natural ecological is the most inner and most important beauty of Xixi Wetland. We must unswervingly put protection first and do our best to maintain the wetland ecology and water environment. We must take the protection of Xihu and Xixi Wetland as a clear direction for urban development and governance in Hangzhou, coordinate the three major spatial layouts of production, life and ecology, and create more experience in building a livable city where man and nature live in harmony and coexist and prosper together." General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized this.

  ◇ Over the past 20 years, Hangzhou City has successively issued a series of documents, unswervingly putting protection first, adhere to the principle of "ecological priority and minimum intervention" to continuously upgrade wetland governance methods, cultivate the natural ecological system, explore the formation of a "gold-inlaid jade" model for wetlands to become "jade" and surroundings to become "gold". Wetlands and cities are integrated development, and strive to make Xixi more beautiful.

  ◇ "The Xixi Wetland Comprehensive Protection Project not only provides valuable experience for the construction of other wetlands around the world, but also provides a scientific and effective model for the protection and utilization of global urban wetlands in the 21st century."

  ◇ Hangzhou uses scientific water distribution, external guidance and internal transmission, and reasonably uses Xixi surrounding gate stations to increase the water flow speed to ensure that the wetlands control the best landscape water level of 1.65 meters all year round. Xixi is swaying due to the moisturizing of water.

  ◇ The carbon sequestration capacity of Xixi Wetland can reach 400,000 tons, driving the temperature to drop by 0.5℃ to 1.5℃ within an area of ​​about 15 square kilometers, effectively alleviating the urban greenhouse effect and heat island effect, which is equivalent to saving 100,000 to 300,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity and 500,000 to 800 tons of water per day for the city.

  ◇ "We want to create a 'digital twin version' Xixi Wetland, providing digital solutions for wetland governance across the country and even the world, and setting a benchmark for digital ecological governance."

  ◇ Xixi Wetland continues to carry out the action of old Xixi people returning to wetland to start a business and employment. Currently, 70% of the employees of the Wetland Tourism Development Company are indigenous residents, and 70% of the business owners in the rational utilization area of ​​wetland are indigenous residents, ensuring that the indigenous residents fully share the results of wetland development.

  ◇ The Plum Blossom Festival in late winter and early spring, the Fire Persimmon Festival in autumn, the Reeds Festival in ornamental reeds, and the Dried Pond Festival in water and fishing... In Xixi, tourists can fully experience the joy brought by the original beauty.

  Text | "Outlook" News Weekly Reporter Wu Huanqing Fang Yibo Feng Yuan

  The streams of the Tianmu Mountains flow in front of the mountains, and a fertile Jiangnan wilderness is alluvial. Farmers and fishermen cultivate fields and ponds here, while literati and scholars come to build houses to explore the seclusion. Green bamboo and clear water, fields, fish ponds, and farmhouses leave a clear and quiet Xixi River in the western suburbs of Hangzhou.

  Flowers are in full bloom in spring, summer is full of green, reeds are flying snow in autumn, and sparse shadows are slanted in winter. The unique scenery of Xixi Wetland "There are several hectares of reed cone that are bounded into fields, and a song of smoke" allows urbanites who are taking a break from their busy schedule to feel the nostalgia.

  With the acceleration of urbanization and the development of suburban industry and agriculture, Xixi faced the invasion of environmental pollution at the end of the last century. After Comrade Xi Jinping came to Zhejiang to work, he attached great importance to it and promoted the construction of Xixi Wetland Park. In April 2005, Hangzhou Xixi National Wetland Park, as my country's first national wetland park, was officially opened.

  In March 2020, General Secretary Xi Jinping came to Xixi during his inspection tour in Zhejiang and followed the Green Dike and Fu Dike to observe the protection and utilization of wetlands. He pointed out that wetlands are the primary ecology, and original ecology is the capital of tourism. The development of tourism cannot sacrifice the ecological environment, excessive commercial development, some buildings that affect the ecological environment, and private clubs cannot be set up, so that the park can become a green space shared by the people.

  "Water is the soul of the wetlands, and the beauty of natural ecological is the most inner and most important beauty of Xixi Wetland. We must unswervingly put protection first and do our best to maintain the wetland ecology and water environment. We must take the protection of Xihu and Xixi Wetland as a clear direction for urban development and governance in Hangzhou, coordinate the three major spatial layouts of production, life and ecology, and create more experience in building a livable city where man and nature live in harmony and coexist and prosper together." General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized this.

  "Hangzhou Xixi Wetland Protection Area Master Plan", "Hangzhou Xixi National Wetland Park Master Plan", "Hangzhou Xixi National Wetland Park Protection and Management Regulations"... Over the past 20 years, Hangzhou City has successively issued a series of documents, unswervingly put protection first, adhere to the principle of "ecological priority and minimum intervention", continuously upgrade the wetland governance methods, cultivate the natural ecological system, explore the formation of a "gold-inlaid jade" model for the integrated development of wetlands and cities, and strive to make Xixi more beautiful.

  Today, the Xixi Wetland with an area of ​​about 10.38 square kilometers has become a veritable "green lungs of heaven" and "kidneys of cities". It promotes economic and social development with its unique ecological advantages and presents the beauty of Xixi that harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

Dragon boats shuttle through the river channel of Xixi Wetland (photo taken on June 22, 2023) Photo by Long Wei/This issue

  "Xixi and stay"

  "Look, there is a small one." Holding up a cup of new tea, Jiang Guoxing pointed to a stone arch bridge on the water.

  Jiang Guoxing runs a tea shop in the rational utilization area of ​​Xixi Wetland. He is over 50 years old this year and is a native of Xixi. Not far from the tea, it is the village where he lived.

  Xixi started from the Han and Jin Dynasties, developed during the Tang and Song Dynasties, and flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with a maximum area of ​​60 square kilometers. Throughout the dynasties, countless literati and poets have come to search for the secluded and ask about the rhyme, feel the scenery of Jiangnan water towns of "cold, wild, light and elegant". They use their pens to describe the pastoral poems of men and women who wove, and the secluded pictures of piano and cranes following each other, and praise them, "Let's stay with Xixi."

  In Jiang Guoxing's memory, the river in Xixi was once very clear. According to the village rules, villagers get up early every day to fetch water by the river, go home to cook water and cook rice, and then they can wash laundry and vegetables.

  Since the 1990s, 13,000 permanent residents and nearly 10,000 migrant population have gradually gathered within more than 10 square kilometers of Xixi. The villagers have surrounded about 3,000 ponds, cultivated aquatic products in high density and distributed a large amount of bait, raised more than 25,000 pigs, and built many township enterprises around it, and the water quality of Xixi has deteriorated sharply.

  "At that time, the village had already used tap water, but whenever they saw garbage floating in the harbor, the villagers would shake their heads and sigh, hoping to manage the environment well." Shen Ronggen, who had served as the village party secretary in the local area for more than 30 years, recalled.

  At that time, many places in Zhejiang also encountered "growth troubles" like Xixi. Comrade Xi Jinping, then Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, said in a discussion with some students of the Zhejiang Provincial Party School in 2003 that environmental protection and ecological construction should be done twice the result with half the effort, and the later it will be more passive. The kind of development that only cares about the present and ignores the long-term development, the kind of development that costs money and lives, the kind of development that first pollutes and then treats, destroys and then recovers, can no longer continue. Strengthening environmental protection and ecological governance is the top priority and top priority for our province to ensure the sustainable economic and social development.

  "Practice has proved that wherever you pay attention to the protection, construction, rational development and operation of the ecological environment, you will get huge economic, environmental and social benefits." He said.

  In July 2003, the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee proposed to implement the "Eight Eight Strategy". One of the important tasks is to further leverage Zhejiang's ecological advantages, create an ecological province, and create a "green Zhejiang".

  Planning is first, active protection, zoning protection, careful management, and in-depth research... Hangzhou launches the Xixi Wetland Comprehensive Protection Project (hereinafter referred to as the "Comprehensive Protection Project") and actively builds the Hangzhou Xixi National Wetland Park. It unifies protection and utilization, and does a good job in the protection, management, operation and research of wetlands, achieve sustainable development, and do its best to leave the beautiful Xixi.

  In September 2003, the comprehensive guarantee project was launched, with a total investment of approximately 15 billion yuan, and was completed in October 2008. Nearly two years after the project was implemented, the former State Forestry Administration approved the establishment of the Xixi National Wetland Park pilot project. On April 30, 2005, Hangzhou Xixi National Wetland Park opened.

  ——Planning comes first, and comprehensive development is coordinated. Relevant departments in Hangzhou have successively compiled more than 20 special plans, including the "Hangzhou Xixi National Wetland Park Master Plan" and the "Landscape Control Plan for the Surrounding Areas of Xixi Wetland", forming a comprehensive ecological development planning system such as natural ecological planning, cultural ecological planning, scientific research and popular science planning, rural (community) development planning, ecological economic planning, and ecological tourism planning, and pay attention to integration and matching with surrounding regional planning.

  ——Actively protect and stabilize the ecosystem. Hangzhou insists on "returning the house to green, and returning people to quiet", and does a good job in relocation and demolition of residents in the wetlands, and restores some key cultural relics in moderation, and reduces the building area in the wetland by about 70% compared with the original one; start from four aspects such as dredging, sewage interception, water distribution, and biocontrol to improve the water environment and water quality of Xixi Wetland; focus on restoring and rebuilding the damaged wetland ecosystem and the wetland food chain with a reasonable structure, so as to achieve the diversity of animal and plant ecosystems and the stability of the wetland ecosystem.

  ——Zone protection, refine governance modules. Xixi Wetland is divided into ecological conservation areas, restoration and reconstruction areas and rational utilization areas, and strictly manages the zoning according to functional positioning.

  The ecological conservation area is an area with good integrity, high ecological stability, least disturbed by human activities, and good natural state. It is the core area of ​​the Xixi Wetland ecosystem. In the ecological conservation area, no other activities shall be carried out except for the necessary protection and management activities such as protection, monitoring, and scientific research.

  The restoration and reconstruction area is a certain degree of damage to the wetland ecosystem. The wetland ecosystem needs to be restored and rebuilt damaged areas. The main purpose of setting up is to improve the water quality of wetlands, rebuild wetland vegetation, and restore wildlife habitat.

  The rational utilization area is a concentrated distribution area for humanistic and historical resources, and a key area for rational utilization of natural landscape resources and cultural landscape resources. Here you can carry out ecological display, popular science education and other publicity activities, as well as ecological experience and management services that do not damage the functions of the wetland ecosystem. Around the wetlands, an outer ecological zone is also set up, becoming a transition zone and buffer zone between wetlands and cities.

  ——A careful management and strictly govern the park according to law. Xixi Wetland is a public resource, and management requires both ecological, social and economic benefits to achieve standardized governance in accordance with the law. In December 2011, the "Hangzhou Xixi National Wetland Park Protection and Management Regulations" was officially implemented, and clear provisions were made on the planning and construction, protection, utilization, and management of wetlands. After two revisions, the regulations will further standardize the management system, adjust management methods, clarify the law enforcement subjects, and establish a coordination mechanism for social affairs management of wetland parks.

  ——In-depth research and promote sustainable development. The protection and utilization of wetlands involves more than a dozen disciplines including ecology, environmental protection, biology, architecture, history, economics, sociology, culture, and tourism. Xixi Wetland has successively established the China Wetland Museum and Xixi Research Institute to carry out research on social sciences such as Xixi history, folk customs, and scenery, as well as research on natural sciences, ecological environment protection and sustainable utilization, etc. in recent years, including environmental and natural resources, hydrology and water environmental effects, and evaluation of ecological service functions. 79 volumes of "Xixi Complete Book" have been published.

  In 2006, Pete Bridgewater, then Secretary-General of the International Wetlands Convention Organization, commented: "The Xixi Wetland Comprehensive Protection Project not only provides valuable experience in the construction of other wetlands around the world, but also provides a scientific and effective model for the protection and utilization of global urban wetlands in the 21st century."

  In 2009, Hangzhou Xixi National Wetland Park was included in the International Important Wetland List, becoming the first internationally important wetland in my country to join the International Wetland Convention Organization in the name of the National Wetland Park.

"Flower God" takes a flower boat to cruise the Xixi Wetland (photo taken on March 24, 2024) Photo by Weng Xinyang/This issue

  Continuously upgraded governance methods

  In the foyer of Hangzhou Xixi Wetland Intelligent Management Center, a monitor plays remote sensing images from 1983 to 2023 in a loop. Through image comparison, it can be clearly seen that since the early 1990s, the gray-white Hangzhou urban blocks began to spread to the western suburbs, while the green blocks representing wetlands were retreating step by step. In 2003, the Xixi Wetland Comprehensive Protection Project started, and the trend of "white advancement and green retreat" stopped on the east side of the park, leaving behind a pure land.

  For the buildings retained by Xixi Wetland, the park management department strictly implements the total construction volume control with the total construction area of ​​304,200 square meters as a binding indicator, and formulates the "Xixi Wetland Business Form Guide Plan" to strictly control the commercialization ratio.

  In recent years, Hangzhou City has unswervingly put protection first, firmly grasped the principle of "ecological priority and minimum intervention", continued to upgrade its governance methods, and made every effort to maintain the wetland ecology and water environment.

  Induce the outside and connect the inside to awaken the soul of the wetland. Water is the soul of wetlands, and the first priority of protecting Xixi is water. The capacity of the Xixi Wetland water body reservoir is about 13.88 million cubic meters. However, due to the extremely low drop of the plain water net and the slow water flow, the Xixi Wetland has insufficient self-purification capacity. Hangzhou uses scientific water distribution, external guidance and internal transmission to reasonably use Xixi surrounding gate stations to increase the water flow velocity to ensure that the wetlands are controlled at the best landscape water level all year round, and Xixi is swaying due to the moisturizing of water.

  In 2023, Hangzhou will further implement the water diversion and quality improvement project on the basis of implementing the Qiantang River water into the city and building a sand sedimentation tank, and inject the precipitated Qiantang River clear water into Xixi. The maximum annual distribution of 200 million cubic meters of water for Xixi and surrounding water networks is equivalent to the water storage capacity of about 13.3 West Lakes.

  In addition to the external water diversion source, the hydrological connection between some fish ponds is restored inside the wetland, connecting the external water system, and forming a vast artificial multi-pool system; the fish ponds are regularly silted to remove silt formed by humus precipitation, further increasing the permeability of water.

  At present, the water quality of Xixi Wetland has maintained at Class III water quality. In recent years, all water quality of municipal controlled sections has reached or exceeded the assessment standards. The carbon sequestration capacity of Xixi Wetland can reach 400,000 tons, driving the temperature to drop by 0.5℃ to 1.5℃ within an area of ​​about 15 square kilometers, effectively alleviating the urban greenhouse effect and heat island effect, which is equivalent to saving 100,000 to 300,000 kilowatt-hour of electricity and 500,000 to 800 tons of water per day for the city.

  Treat scientifically and restore natural ecosystems. Rivers and fish ponds must be piled with slopes to facilitate the formation of a biological growth and reproduction environment; municipal sewage pipelines are buried in the park to store sewage generated by human activities, and sewage is strictly prohibited from being discharged directly from river ponds... Similar scientific protection details can be seen everywhere in Xixi Wetlands.

  Liu Xiang, member of the Party Working Committee of Hangzhou Xixi National Wetland Park and deputy director of the Park Service Center, introduced that Xixi Wetland, in accordance with the concept of "mountain, river, forest, fields, lakes and grasslands are a community of life", takes into account the natural ecological elements such as water quality, soil, atmosphere, and biodiversity of the wetlands, and carries out overall protection and systematic governance.

  Take the thousands of "three-base fish ponds" distributed in Xixi Wetland as an example. "Three foundations" refer to mulberry base, bamboo base and persimmon base. Fish are raised in the pond, mulberry trees, bamboo or persimmon trees are planted on the pond ridges. The fish manure is fertilized and the pond mud can be used as fertilizer on the pond ridges to realize the recycling of ecological resources.

  In recent years, the park has cleaned up the surface floating mud of some closed "three-based fish ponds", implemented engineering measures such as slope protection restoration, aquatic plant planting, water system connectivity and timely external river water replenishment, to enhance the stability and self-purification capacity of the pond ecosystem.

  Scientific management and maintenance have promoted the restoration of the natural ecosystem of Xixi Wetland and effectively enriched biodiversity. As of the end of 2024, compared with the 2005 data, Xixi Wetland has 971 vascular plants, an increase of 750; 918 insects, an increase of 441; 224 birds, an increase of 155; there are currently 3 national first-level key protected animals, 34 national second-level key protected animals, 6 national first-level key protected plants, and 20 national second-level key protected plants.

  Digital governance helps wetlands to accurately protect. Walking into the first floor of Hangzhou Xixi Wetland Intelligent Management Center, the reporter saw on the big screen that the data of 8 water quality stations, 10 water level stations, 2 hydrological stations, 2 gate stations, 5 meteorological stations, 1 air quality monitoring station and 18 pipeline level meters are displayed in real time.

  In March 2024, the center was put into operation, using digital twins, Internet of Things, big data, artificial intelligence and other technologies to integrate scattered data resources, and through technical means such as simulation computing and deduction, we will improve the level of fine governance, providing strong support for protecting the wetland ecology and water environment, marking that Xixi Wetland has entered a new stage of digital protection and utilization.

  "This is just a white-brow duck, that is just a green-winged duck. The birds photographed in the video can be identified with AI technology." Zhang Ming, project director of the center, said that through voiceprint equipment and video equipment, coupled with AI technology, bird distribution can be monitored in a timely manner.

  Zhizhi Center is not only a common monitoring platform, it combines data centers, algorithm centers, technology applications, etc., so that managers can understand more accurately whether management measures are in place.

  "For example, whether a certain river or fish pond needs to be silted, in the past we used to rely on experience, and now we can calculate based on the water flow rate and the silt deposition rate." Liu Xiang said, "We want to create a 'digital twin version' Xixi Wetland to provide digital solutions for wetland governance across the country and even the world, and set a benchmark for digital ecological governance."

Tourists visit Xixi Wetland (photo taken on April 2, 2023) Photo by Weng Xinyang/This issue

  "Golden and Jade" brings out the "Treasure Basin"

  Coordinate the three spatial layouts of production, life and ecology, promote the integrated development of wetlands and cities, and explore the formation of the "gold-inlaid jade" model, that is, wetlands are "jade" and surroundings are "gold". From wetland parks to "wetland park-type urban groups", becoming a "grape pot" to attract talents and funds.

  Moving to work in peace and contentment, villagers can enjoy a good "ecological meal". "Our village is surrounded by water, and the fields are far away. It takes an hour to row from home to the field. During the busy farming period, I can't go home at noon, so I can only eat the cold rice I brought in in the morning. Girls in the surrounding villages are unwilling to marry in." Looking back on the past, Shen Ronggen, who is nearly 70 years old, sighed very much, "Without wetland protection, there is no good life now. People in their sixties and seventies have pensions. When I told others that my family lives in Xixi, everyone was envious and said, 'That's a prime location'."

  Shen Jinjun, who is also an indigenous resident, is now the driver of the battery ship in Xixi Wetland. "I work in the park. Every day I see that the water is clear, the trees are green, and birds fly, fish fly, which is really a pleasure." Shen Jinjun told reporters that the charging area of ​​Xixi Wetland is open to the indigenous people for free.

  There are still many people from Xixi who work in the Xixi Wetland like Jiang Guoxing and Shen Jinjun. Xixi Wetland continues to carry out the action of old Xixi people returning to wetland to start a business and employment. Currently, 70% of the employees of the wetland operation and management company are indigenous residents, and 70% of the business owners in the rational utilization area of ​​wetland are indigenous residents, ensuring that the indigenous residents fully share the results of wetland development.

  The villagers in Xixi Wetland have been relocated to build residential areas and relocated all of them, involving more than 13,000 people, and are resettled in a newly built community close to the wetland in Xihu District, Hangzhou. The local government formulates a development resettlement plan. While ensuring the area of ​​resettlement housing, it will give the 10% retention land index to the expropriated agricultural land, which will be used for village collective enterprise projects to develop and strengthen the collective economy, and villagers can receive dividends every year.

  Radiating around the surroundings, the transformation of ecological benefits has accelerated. The charm of Xixi is not limited to the park. The beautiful ecological environment of the wetland has attracted universities, enterprises and industrial parks such as Zhejiang University, West Lake University, Alibaba, Ant Group, and Alibaba Cloud to settle in the surrounding areas.

  There are more than 10,000 enterprises in Jiangcun Street on the north side of Xixi Wetland alone, including 156 national high-tech enterprises, 11 "unicorn" or "quasi-unicorn" enterprises, 20 listed companies and their affiliated companies, and 36 cultural and creative enterprises above the designated size, forming multiple areas such as cultural and creative industry belt, leisure commercial belt, and ecological economic business belt.

  10 characteristic industrial parks form a unique cultural and creative industrial belt around Xixi. "Our company was founded around Xixi Wetland in 2014. The work was hard in the early stages of entrepreneurship, but there was a Qingya Xixi that was within reach. If you go in for a walk and look at the water, you will be able to relax soon." Li Hongxing, founder of Hangzhou Fanxiangjia Technology Co., Ltd., said, "Xixi is really a long way to go shopping."

  At present, the emerging residential clusters around Xixi have absorbed more than 200,000 permanent residents, and the brand "tours travel in Xixi, learn in Xixi, live in Xixi, and start a business in Xixi" is becoming more and more popular.

  The integration of culture and tourism inherits the thousand-year cultural context of Xixi. Today, Hangzhou's traditional festival Flower Festival has been held in Xixi Wetland for 15 years. It enjoys red, plants flowers, slaps butterflies, and sacrifices to the flower gods. People wander in the wetlands, enjoying the fragrance of plants and trees and the fragrance of the flowers. In addition, there are the Plum Blossom Festival in late winter and early spring, the Fire Persimmon Festival in autumn, the Reeds Festival in ornamental reeds, and the Dried Pond Festival in water and fishing... In Xixi, tourists can fully experience the joy brought by the original beauty.

  As the president of Jiangcun Dragon Boat Association, Shen Ronggen leads his team members to prepare for the Dragon Boat Festival "Dragon Boat Festival" every year starting from the 23rd of the April lunar calendar. This local custom began in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song Dynasty. It did not compare speed, skills and performances, and has been included in the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

  "The dragon boat decorations here are different from those in other places, and the 'gongs and drums' classics' are also different. In the past, every household could row dragon boats, but now many people have changed to drive, but the culture left by their ancestors cannot be lost." Shen Ronggen said. At present, Xixi Wetland carries 3 national-level intangible cultural heritage representative projects and more than 10 provincial and municipal-level intangible cultural heritage representative projects.

  Xixi Wetland is a natural classroom that attracts a large number of students to experience science classes. Volunteers from all walks of life came here to serve as "nature mentors" and enthusiastically provided explanations and tour guide services. More and more citizens and tourists have a deeper understanding of the harmonious coexistence between man and nature as they enter the wetlands.

  In 2025, based on the previous construction of 6 campus museums, the China Wetland Museum will build 2 new community museums. Project leader Huang Cui said: "We want to let more people know through the museum's public education that the wetlands are not far away and are right next to us."