Green Urban Lungs

By DONG JIAYING & LIU SHANYAN

RESIDENTS in downtown Bei- jing got to experience nature on their doorsteps last July when the first urban forest park in Dongcheng District was opened to the public. The park sits to the northwest of Beijing Workers Stadium， a popular venue for sports fixtures and pop concerts.

Entering the park feels like stepping out of a concrete jungle into the fresh embrace of nature. It boasts towering Chinese scholar trees and junipers as well as a proliferation of wild blossoms attracting butterflies and bees.

This is just the beginning of expanding green space in the capital. Shijingshan District in west Beijing plans to build 13 forest parks with an area of 604 hectares in the next few years.

Beijing is just one of the municipalities， cities， and provinces around the country which are building forest parks in downtown regions to purify the air and create a natural and green environment for urban dwellers. They include Guangdong Province， Shanxi Province， Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region， Tianjin Municipality and Anhui Province.

Trees and vegetation could help purify the air in urban areas by releasing oxygen during photosynthesis， effectively lowering the concentration of gases detrimental to peoples health， like sulfur dioxide， fluoride， and nitrogen oxide.

Ecological Priority

Existing urban parks are mostly more of gardens for decorative purposes， but host no ecosystem. Urban forest parks are built to create such an ecosystem for biodiversity protection.

With densely planted trees and diverse vegetation， urban forest parks are integral parts of green cityscapes and urban ecosystems. “We manage to create an ecosystem similar to a natural forest as far as possible. It features a complete food chain and eco-chain， via diverse ecologies underground， on the surface， and on the tip of branches，” said Guo Rongrong， a specialist with the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design.

Realizing this importance， cities across China are building more urban forest parks.

In the urban forest park of Beijings Xicheng District， which opened in September 2017， there are 79 varieties of trees， 32 types of grass， and century-old gingkoes. They offer food and habitats for wildlife like squirrels， hares， insects， and birds.

Longquan Mountain Urban Forest Park in Chengdu， Sichuan Province， is a green buffer in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. In the past， the area was beset by problems like soil depletion， deforestation， and deteriorating ecologies.

The city started efforts to restore vegetation on the Longquan Mountain in 2000. After several years， the mountain had 61 percent of its area covered by forests. The restoration expedites the cleaning of water， soil， and air in the city. As a result， environmental pollution and soil erosion are contained， preventing natural disasters from affecting the city.

Longquan Mountain Urban Forest Park will be completed by 2035. According to the 2016-2035 urban plan for Chengdu， the park will have a forest area of 70.5 percent and an abundance of wildlife. Each local resident will have an additional forest area of 10 square meters on average. Besides， the annual water-holding capacity will be increased by 840 million cubic meters.

Chongqing is now home to nine ecoparks measuring a total of 5.6 million square meters. Green space covers over 40 percent of its total area， offering 15 square meters to each resident. With its biodiversity and ecosystem， forest parks are important for urbanites to maintain good health and improve their quality of life.

The Qiandao Lake National Forest Park， the largest kind in China， is a prime example of adding value to urban dwellers lives. Located in Chunan County， Zhejiang Province， the park provides tours for health maintenance like forest bathing， rafting， rock climbing， and camping.

“Urban forest parks should be built to serve urbanites and based on local conditions. They are pro-nature and follow the law of nature，” said Qiu Erfa， associate research fellow with the Research Center of Urban Forest with Chinas National Forestry and Grassland Administration. “The location， garden zoning， and facilities should be planned for the convenience of people and take the parks visitor flow capacity into consideration.” He also suggested planting a combination of indigenous species， trees， and other vegetation so as to form a natural eco-community.

Many cities have long failed to build enough public green space. Urban forest parks provide a solution. The forest is a complicated and dynamic ecosystem in terms of structure， energy conversion， and material cycle. By maintaining a balance between carbon and oxygen， adjusting the microclimate， and conserving water and soil， urban forest parks are able to preserve the original forest landscape and improve the air quality of the city.

Balanced Lifestyle

Today， over 55 percent of Chinas population lives in urban areas. Chinas urbanization ratio hit 58.5 percent at the end of 2017. Rapid urbanization has pushed forward economic and social development and improved peoples livelihood. However， as an unexpected aftermath， ecosystems in cities are being damaged.

“Livable and ecologically-friendly cities are now a common aspiration. Just like the ecological succession of biocenosis， Chinese cities are progressing toward the highest stage of green development，” said Da Liangjun， a professor with the School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences in East China Normal University.

Da has insightful perspectives on how to incorporate ecosystem into a livable and ecologically-friendly city.“Based on ecological theories， we can employ scientific methods and the latest technologies to simulate the natural ecosystem and restore the impaired urban ecosystem and its degraded functions. The result will be a renewed healthy system which is capable of selfcycling and self-maintenance，” he explained. Building urban forest parks is a good way to do this， he said.

It is also one of the tasks set out in the 13th Five-Year Plan （2016-20）， and a promise the Communist Party of China made at its 19th National Congress in October 2017.

As a constituent part of a livable city， forest parks are not just enhanced versions of gardens or general parks， but form a dynamic ecological system that is urgently required to maintain a healthy balance in modern urban living.