THE SIGN HUNTERS

CHINA: Xiazhu Lake National Wetland Park

Written by Laszlo, 21 October 2019

This time, I am going to treat you with a slightly different post. It is also the first entry that is related to our stay here in China. Because, as you already know it well (don’t you?), we have moved to one of the largest countries on Earth. It is actually massive and it is hard to explain its size with words yet. One thing is, however, sure! Since China has a huge land area, fantastic natural environment, history-filled megalopolises, so simply a lot to see, it is finally time for me to show you something.

Just to do a small recap, we have moved to Hangzhou which is one of the largest cities in China. It is the capital city of Zhejiang province. We came here to teach in English; Katie is an art teacher and I am a science teacher. The school where we work is awesome and the kids who we are teaching are also awesome. Our school (Hangzhou Chovan Century City Experimental School) is meant to be the best here though they tend to call everything the best. So, this post today, compared to the previous posts, is slightly different, because it is related to our school. Last Friday (the 18th October 2019), we were involved in the kids' autumn field trip. I personally went out with the 4th grade students and we all went to Xiazhu Lake National Wetland Park (Click here for the official website - in Chinese). This place was simply amazing!

Xiazhu Lake National Wetland Park is located in Deqing County in Zhejiang and covers an area of some 36.5 square kilometres. As main part of the park, the Xiazhu Lake features zigzag streams and rivers with big-or-small islands spreading over them. With various flora and fauna resources, the original ecological system of the lake is well preserved here. Xiazhu Lake, also known as Windbreak Lake, is one of the inland lakes of Zhejiang province. It is also a natural wetland and hometown of an ancient wind management culture. So far, the remains of the wind-proof temples and monuments still exist. In the entire wetland waters of Xiazhu Lake, various island piers are hidden, which are connected by swamps, rivers and grasslands, and are known as 'natural sponges' for water storage and flood control. (Some information is from here.)

Our field trip was a highly time-dependant activity, so we obviously had no chance to stop everywhere and thoroughly observe the entire wetland. But, we still did very well and saw a lot of this beautiful natural treasure. But this time, instead of recording the natural environment, I focused more on the children. So, this post post is different, because the majority of the photos is about my kids. But showing them to you makes me feel happy as the enthusiasm, excitement and entertainment on their faces are worth everything! Have a look at them and enjoy this journey with us.