Resettling 22,000 makes Fuxian Lake clearer

In April, 2019, Yuxi, a major city in southwest China's Yunnan province, launched an unprecedented resettlement project for local ecology.

22,000 residents that had lived within the 110-meter line off the Fuxian Lake were resettled to minimize the pollution caused by human activities.

“Why do you have to relocate the residents instead of taking other measures?” wondered some international journalists.

Because living and production activities by the 22,000 plus residents near the lake have been a headache in protecting the Fuxian Lake.

A case in point here is the Mafang village, where farmers mostly plant vegetables like leek and pea. Mixing with rainfalls, the agro-pollutants flowed into the lake, damaging local ecology and posing threat to sustained growth.

To restore Fuxian’s eco-beauty, 856 villagers of 273 households near the lake was resettled in 2014, with their old home turned into a 265 mu (17.6ha) wetland park.

Gone are residents, houses, rice fields and ponds; only the lake area and wetland remain.

In carrying out relocation, the Party members and cadres in Mafang set an example, tearing down their own lake-side houses before they suggested others to do the same.

Now the water quality of Fuxian Lake is kept at Class I, with the protection effect ranking first among China’s 81 lakes with sound water quality.

Here is the new look of the lake.

Waterfowls live in the lotus pond, and the villagers’ new houses look tidy and clean.

The areas for animal husbandry in the past are now beautiful beaches for sightseeing.

The native fish species are thriving in the Fuxian Lake.

Water fowls and other birds have taken the lake as their new habitat.

The sky is blue, but the lake is even bluer.

“The area is a wonderland,” said Chu Mengqi, a reporter at the Hainan International Communication Network.

Zhang Cong, owner of the Famulei holiday inn, said the lake invited in more visitors and his life bettered off.

“The pastoral lifestyle featuring bird and insect chirpings has made Mafang a destination for weekends and holidays,” said Guo Hongyan, a Qujing native who runs another holiday inn in Mafang.

As is shown above, Yuxi has made all-round efforts and gained results in eco-conservation and bio-diversity protection.

A reporter at the Hainan International Communication Network said people here realized that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets and their conservation efforts were awarded.

“Fostering a community of life for man and Nature is a joint responsibility for global citizens and the international community as a whole. In Chengjiang, central Yunnan’s Yuxi City, I see the practice and future of the vision. ” DO VI SA, a journalist with the Vietnamese Báo Nhân Dân, said.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), Yunnan has improved the water quality in its 9 major plateau lakes, with the Fuxian and Lugu lakes maintaining Class I water quality.

The Fuxian conservation is a miniature of the Yunnan protection efforts for its 9 major lakes.

Statistics show the Fuxian lake and its surrounding areas have become home to 464 vascular plants, 196 bird species and 32 rare fishes, as well as green pea fowls and other 6 animals under first-class state protection in China.

May Fuxian lake remain intact forever.

By Gateway reporters