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The Living Water Garden, located in the city of Chengdu in Sichuan
Province, China, was the first inner city ecological park in the world
with water as its theme. The 5.9-acre (2.4 ha) public park is located
on the Fu and Nan rivers, an ancient river diversion system designed
and constructed in 250 B.C.. The vision of environmental artist and
founder of Keepers of the Waters Betsy Damon, this international award
winning park is a fully functioning water treatment plant, a giant
sculpture in the shape of a fish (symbol of regeneration in Chinese
culture), a living environmental education center, a refuge for wildlife
and plants, and a wonderful place for people. Since its completion
in 1998, it has become the most popular park in the city and is on
the national tourist registry.
It was built by The Chengdu Fu & Nan Rivers Comprehensive Revitalization
Project, a five-year plan to rebuild Chengdu's infrastructure to support
its growing population for the next 200 years. Each day, 200 cubic
meters of polluted river water move through the natural treatment
system and emerge clean enough to drink. This amount of water is not
enough to affect the river water quality as a whole; its purpose is
teaching and inspiration, which it does very successfully. Visitors
can walk everywhere in the park, delighting in the many birds, butterflies
and dragonflies that have taken up residence there and observing the
once dead river water become alive again. Because of the visible and
understandable treatment system, people can clearly see the water
becoming cleaner and cleaner.
Other features of the park include an underground parking garage,
environmental education center, and a circular stone amphitheater
facing the river for concerts and other activities. There is also
an extensive forested areas made up of more than 100 different plant
species (some rare) to represent the biodiversity on Mt Emei, a sacred
Buddhist mountain located 160 kilometers outside Chengdu. There are
also two places where steps replaced the floodwall, giving visitors
a way to reach the river.
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