The Yuandang Bridge links wetland scenery with greenways along the lake, where swaying greenery, clear waters, flying egrets, and chirping insects delight passersby. [Photo/WeChat account: shobserver.com]
Yuandang Lake is the core lake of the "one river and three lakes" in the Yangtze River Delta Integrated Development Demonstration Zone.
It is also an important cross-border lake between Shanghai and Suzhou, with a total area of 12.9 square kilometers and a 23-kilometer-long shoreline, of which 6.2 km belong to the Qingpu district of Shanghai.
In 2018, Qingpu and Wujiang in Suzhou joined forces to form a 23-km-long ecological contiguous shoreline program around Yuandang Lake.
In 2020 and 2021, Qingpu district completed the first and second phases of the Yuandang ecological shoreline connectivity project, linking 3.1 km of shoreline. The third phase, with a total investment of about 580 million yuan ($79.45 million), was recently completed.
"The third phase stretches from the Sinopec Conference Center in the south to the Shanghai-Suzhou border in the north, covering about 438 mu (29.2 hectares)," said Lu Xiaofeng, deputy director of Qingpu district's water affairs bureau.
"Moving forward, we will further enhance shoreline functionality to create a convenient, multifunctional contiguous shoreline meeting diverse public needs," said Lu Xuehua, director of Qingpu district's river and lake center.
