2017年CRI Efforts on restoration ecology at Jiaozhou Bay paid off

The Hongdao Economic Zone is on the northern bank of Jiaozhou Bay in Qingdao.

The local fishermen became wealthy in the 90s off the back of their pond-farming of shrimp 1 and fish.

Unfortunately, the local river area has suffered; becoming increasingly polluted over time.

Among a number of environmental protection projects being implemented 2 at Jiaozhou Bay, is an ecological 3 restoration project on Hongdao.

It seems like these ecological repair efforts are paying off. Shen Ting has more.

Wang Kongxing, a local worker in Hongdao district's administrative 4 office, started participating into the restoration project three years ago.

"The project caused an uproar 5. A lot of people came to my office, crazily shouting at me. I patiently gave them explanations and persuaded them to understand the consequences in the long run. As soon as it became clear that their appeals were unreasonable 6, they left."

Along with the removal of large tracts 7 of breeding ponds from those tidal-flat areas, the landscape alongside the coastline has started to recover.

Other tremendous changes include the planned construction of a green path around the Jiaozhou Bay. The path will include the cultivation 8 of lawns and a road with a series of wooden planks 9, as well as the building of an observation platform.

Finding these changes at the northern shore of Jiaozhou Bay, 80-year-old Liu Ruizhang, a local from Shao Gezhuang village, feels refreshed.

"Over 2000 acres of shrimp ponds, as well as other breeding ponds in the tidal belt, have all been removed. This has led to better water quality. We find that the clams 10 are now much fatter."

Cangkou, another large district in Qingdao city, has also undergone remarkable 11 changes.

The salt-water therapy at Cangkou used to be very popular in the years following the launch of a sea bath and therapy zone there, back in the mid 12 1960s.

In the early 1990s, the building of coastal 13 roads cut off the sea, and it also caused the Cangkou sea therapy zone to stop operating, with its swimming pools gradually draining away.

Meanwhile, a large number of industrial enterprises have been set up in Cangkou, and these enterprises caused severe pollution by directly discharging their sewage into the bay. The local water quality deteriorated 14.

Song Xin, a local resident who is fond of fishing, recalls these events.

"Since 1995/1996, the sewage discharge from local power plant, soda 15 steel mills, and chemical plants has piled up, causing terrible smells."

It became clear that ecological restoration for Jiaozhou Bay was very necessary, especially when people found an accumulation of construction waste and discharges from alkali plants,turned a popular area into white mud. Today, the venue 16 has been built into a white mud park.

The picture shows the White Mud Park which was built in the Licang district in Qingdao city, east China's Shandong province. [Photo：qingdaonews.com]

Su Xinhang is an engineer in charge of constructing a commerce area in Licang district.

Following the relocation of the soda plant and steel mills, Su Xinhang began taking charge of building a green around-bay path in this white mud park.

He is eager to revitalize this area.

"In the earliest years, the location used to be a wharf 17, so we wanted to restore its original appearance. We've also built a monument, marking the Cangkou sea-bath area. Both the wharf and the discarded saltwater and therapy bath area, represent an old memory for local residents. Today they enjoy low-tide beachcombing in the park."

Liu Haiyan is a resident of Xiaogang Mingcheng, a large, modernized 18 residential 19 community in the city of Qingdao.

She feels quite excited about moving into the new community. What's added to her joy is an internationalized, modern luxury cruise ship terminal in the neighborhood, which she believes helps completely shake off the old and shabby looking areas she remembers.

"There used to be a bottleneck 20 filled with small fishing boats. Also, local mills discharged their waste water through the docks here. All these scenes are now a thing of the past. Today, cargo 21 ships from South Korea, Japan and Dubai gather here, and we all expect there will be duty-free shops in the future. On good sunny days, it's quite comfortable to have a walk here."

Zhang Fenglou is in charge of residential affairs of Xiaogang Mingcheng residential community.

He also became part of the local shoreline's ecological remediation project three years ago.

"The construction of the around-Bay green path has now been completed. Before, the walls of the river bank had collapsed 22 and the original pier 23 had fallen into serious disrepair. There were a lot of difficulties in transforming the area into a path with green trees. We've carefully taken a lot of factors into consideration, including the choice of tree species, before realizing our green path plan."

Sitting on Xiaogang's seaside areas, Song Xin is now fishing with silent pleasure. Over the years, the mother Bay has nurtured 24 generations of Qingdao citizens, like him.

For Song Xin, the Jiaozhou Bay is both familiar and new, and his memory about the old hometown is fading.

Perhaps change is inevitable 25 on the natural landscapes of Jiaozhou Bay.

With a deep love for their hometown and nostalgia 26 for the beautiful sceneries of the past, local people will be determined 27 to work harder in preventing any destructive activities at Jiaozhou Bay.

For CRI, I'm Shen Ting.