Struggle for a hundred years, set sail for a new journey ｜ Well-off society is between green mountains and green rivers.

CCTV News:Xixi national wetland park is the first national wetland park in China. In recent years, Xixi protected and utilized wetlands to release ecological dividends, constantly enhancing people’s sense of ecological environment acquisition and happiness.

In the Xixi wetland in spring, a stream is full of smoke. Cao Guohua, a 58-year-old boatman, paddled a paddle boat and took tourists through the water lane.

Cao Guohua, a boatman in Xixi Wetland Park, Hangzhou, Zhejiang: Now the water in the wetland has returned to the water we had when we were children, and it is crystal clear. All the first-class protected animals at the national level have come. When receiving tourists, what they hear most is that Xixi is so beautiful! So, I am from Xixi, and I am proud.

As a native of Xixi village, Cao Guohua knows the twists and turns behind this beauty. In the 1990s, with the acceleration of urbanization, this wetland was destroyed by over-exploitation and environmental degradation.

The environment has been damaged, and there is no livelihood, so the villagers have made a mistake. At this time, Zhejiang Province started the comprehensive protection project of Xixi Wetland, and more than 4,000 households in the wetland moved collectively to alleviate the ecological pressure.

In April 2005, Xixi National Wetland Park opened. The supreme leader comrade, then secretary of Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, sent a special letter, hoping to further improve the protection, management, operation and research of Xixi wetland, make Xixi more beautiful and make Hangzhou more beautiful. Xixi Wetland Management Committee has always treasured this congratulatory letter.

Jin Heng, Deputy Secretary of Xixi Management Committee of West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province:General Secretary of the Supreme Leader has always been concerned about the construction and development of Xixi Wetland. On the eve of the opening of the wetland, he specially sent a congratulatory letter. We always put the original ecological protection in the first place in wetland work in accordance with the instructions of the General Secretary. We focus on natural restoration and maintain the natural wildness of Xixi Wetland.

After more than ten years’ efforts, the ecological beauty of "trees are green and flowers are numerous, birds fly and fish jump" has returned to Xixi. In particular, in 2016, Xixi Wetland built a 1.5-kilometer-long grit chamber to ensure that clean water from the source enters the wetland. At the same time, more than 400 native protozoa were added to enrich biodiversity, restore the self-purification function of the wetland, and increase the digital management and protection efforts to build a three-dimensional ecological observation system. Nowadays, the water quality of Xixi Wetland has been upgraded from the poor five categories in the past to the second category in the core area. There are 711 species of vascular plants, 898 species of insects and 193 species of birds in the wetland, which has become an important practice base for national ecological civilization construction.

In March, 2020, General Secretary of the Supreme Leader visited Xixi Wetland, emphasizing that the wetland is precious in its original ecology, which is the capital of tourism. The development of tourism should not sacrifice the ecological environment, and the wetland park should become a green space shared by the people. Bearing in mind the entrustment of the General Secretary, Xixi Management Committee began to work hard to share wetland parks.

He Lei, Deputy Director of Xixi Management Committee of West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province:According to the requirements of the general secretary, it is a green space, so we should make this green space as balanced as possible. To solve this problem, we must first ensure the ecology. The conservation zone has designated nearly 70% of the area, which is forbidden for tourists and can only be seen with their eyes. In the rational utilization area, we have done everything we can to open up more space for the public. Through greenway transformation and cultural planting, the citizens’ sense of experience, happiness and acquisition will be further enhanced.

Take a walk along the embankment, the science museum, the experience museum and the bird-watching platform, so that the citizens can integrate into it. Nowadays, in Xixi, everyone is a participant and protector in the ecological field, and man and nature coexist harmoniously. Up to now, the coastline of Xixi Wetland, which is open for free, has increased to 10 kilometers. Getting green, enjoying history and enjoying culture has become a comfortable life for every citizen.