The Paradise of Insects and Birds along the Grand Canal
"Many cities have developed the area along the Grand Canal into a tourist belt, but we've given the canal bank to birds," said 59-year-old Wang Fengwei from Huai'an, commenting on the scenery of the Huai'an section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. In fact, Huai'an has spent a huge amount of money creating a 14-kilometer-long "first ecological slope in the country." With reeds waving and birds chirping happily, the captains of southbound and northbound ships have praised it endlessly.
Walking along the embankment of the urban section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in Huai'an, one sees trees standing tall and green grass everywhere. If you are not careful, it is hard to find the hidden viewing path among the flowers, trees, and grass. Apart from the passing cargo ships and the busy docks along the shore, there are almost no citizens strolling by the ecological slope of the Grand Canal. What seems like desolation is actually a kind of original ecology of the canal.
Walking on both sides of the Qingpu Bridge, grasshoppers jump out of the grass constantly, and the sounds of insects and birds can be heard all around. "It's precisely because of the tranquility that these insects and birds can stay," Wang Fengwei said. During springtime, the side of the Grand Canal is the noisiest time, as one often sees birds busy building nests. "By prohibiting vessels from mooring randomly and enriching the ecological slope with reinforcement and greening, the people of Huai'an have gradually turned the riverside into a paradise for birds and insects."
(Note: The article also includes a long list of unrelated products and services which were omitted in this translation.)