From a desolate wilderness to a city park, a leisure spot in an economic development zone, unintentionally becoming a 'Little West Lake'

This is a city park developed from a desolate wilderness, a leisure area in a national-level economic development zone, unintentionally turning into a 'Little West Lake'. Do you know where it is? Let's follow Shan Ye Jun to take a look!

Just a few years ago, this was still a desolate wilderness. Apart from a few farmhouses, everything around was wild and barren. However, when you see such scenery now, it's hard to imagine that it was a desolate wilderness not long ago, right?

Back in the 1960s, influenced by the historical trend of Shanghai's 'Third Front' construction, Ningguo County in Anhui became a key city for Shanghai. Because of this, Ningguo acquired an industrial economic mindset, and its socio-economic development stood out among county-level cities in southern Anhui, providing necessary momentum for urban construction and development. The Chengxi Lake Park you see now is a leisure spot in the Ningguo Economic Development Zone. The local government created this artificial lake to better utilize idle land resources.

The Ningguo Economic Development Zone was the first county-level development zone in Anhui to obtain a national-level designation. It hosts many pillar industries and leading enterprises of Ningguo and even the entire prefecture-level city of Xuancheng, with a floating population of over 100,000. To improve the supporting facilities of the zone, the development authority built this artificial lake on land that was once barren. Since it is located southwest of Ningguo's urban area, it was named Chengxi Lake (West City Lake).

It was supposed to be a very ordinary artificial lake, merely a supporting facility of the development zone, and naturally the scenery would be average. But in fact, it's not. The weather in Ningguo City has been quite nice these days, so I made a special trip to see Chengxi Lake. To my surprise, it was much more beautiful than I imagined. The scenery of the lake and the mountains, along with the pristine natural atmosphere, make it hard to believe that this is a supporting park in a national-level development zone. Such an ecological environment might be common around Dianchi Lake in Kunming, but to have such scenery within a national-level development zone in Ningguo – isn't that a bit surprising? And a bit unexpected?

At first, it was just about making use of idle land, but unexpectedly, many people came here for leisure. Local residents also like to take evening walks here. Over time, it has been directly called Ningguo's Little West Lake. Some even put up signs saying it is the West Lake of a county-level city in southern Anhui.

Because Chengxi Lake is a newly built city park in recent years, it looks quite new. Especially the distant stone arch bridge, combining white marble and granite, gives a northern feel. Coupled with the imitation Huizhou-style architecture, it instantly blends northern and southern architectural elements, creating a strong visual and aesthetic impact! Do you like this feeling?

Crossing this stone arch bridge, I came to this imitation Huizhou-style pavilion. The artistic beauty of Jiangnan architecture is unforgettable. The pavilion was full of retired local uncles and aunties chatting. Everything felt so full of life. It seems that the name 'Ningguo version of West Lake' is not undeserved.

The environment of Chengxi Lake in Ningguo is also excellent. To have such an ecological environment in an industrial county-level city is nothing short of a miracle, and also a blessing. People living here might better understand the concept of a happy life.

How does Ningguo, dominated by an industrial economy, have such an ecological environment? I think it might be because the local government places great emphasis on environmental protection. The area where Chengxi Lake is located was originally a desolate wilderness, so the natural environment was certainly good. Even though it has become a city park now, the ecology remains as it was. Water birds can be seen at any time, making you mistakenly think you are in some nature reserve.

In terms of architecture, Chengxi Lake incorporates Huizhou architectural style, Suzhou garden art, and traditional Chinese feng shui theories. Elements such as entrance screens, lattice windows, winding paths, small bridges, flowing water, and rockeries, all bearing the imprint of Chinese feng shui, can be seen everywhere in this ordinary park. What I thought was an unintentionally created small park actually has a special design. Chengxi Lake truly deserves to be called Ningguo's West Lake Park.

The ancients said that a place with mountains and water must be a good place. Indeed! From Chengxi Lake in Ningguo, you can see the peaks of the Huangshan Mountains' remaining veins. These mountains add much poetic charm to the beauty of Chengxi Lake. Do you like such scenery?

The road encircling Chengxi Lake is very clean, suitable for walking or cycling. You can feel that this industrial city has an extraordinary ecological environment. If you are on a business trip or traveling to Ningguo, I suggest visiting Chengxi Lake in the late afternoon. You will find scenes full of life, and I think many people will like it.