Taihu Wetland Park, the 'green lung' of Suzhou

As one of the first 12 wetland parks gaining national recognition in China, the Taihu Lake Wetland Park in Suzhou New District, East China's Jiangsu province, has over the past decade returned over 2,500 fishponds to wetland status and become the "green lung" of the city.

Though only a few miles from the downtown area, the wetland park has grown into a paradise for birds over the past 10 years, with the species of birds that can be spotted there throughout the year ranging from 100 to 150.

The underwater landscapes at the park, which cover 71 percent of the park's total 23,000-square-meter area, are also unique in that they feature a variety of aquatic plants, such as myriophyllum spicatum, eel grass, andhemiculter leucisclus, forming a structure of mutualistic symbiosis.

At the area where tourists gather, the park has also designed various small wetlands for visitors to rest and get closer to nature. Floating plants such as lotus, emergent plants such as reed, and submerged plants form smaller-sized wetlands also play a role in self-purification of water quality.

The large number of artificial floating islets at the park, which are especially designed for and only open to birds and amphibians, not only enrich the habitat for birds, but also absorb nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and harmful substances in water to increase transparency and improve water quality.

The park also has nearly 600,000 sq m of ecological conservation area, which has been fenced off to prevent visitors from entering and allow nature to recover.