With a planned area of 11.5 square kilometers, Xixi National Wetland Park in the west of the urban area of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province is China's first national Wetland Park. Xixi is billed as the "green lung of the city" for its rich ecological resources and wonderful natural scenery. 

Hangzhou launched the Xixi wetland water environment management project in April.

The sewage systems and sluice-pumping stations in the wetland will be more automatically controlled as the project progresses and the overall water quality will also be improved, said Liu Xiang, deputy director of the ecological culture research center at the wetland park. 

In addition to water quality improvement, Xixi has introduced more than 200 species of native and endangered plants to increase biodiversity.

The latest data shows that Xixi is home to four kinds of national first-class protected animals, including oriental stocks, which are known as "national treasure bird". It also has three plant species under national first-class protection and six plant species under national second-class protection.

Fishing, picking and folk activities have gained great popularity among tourists in Xixi. Farmers from surrounding areas also earned extra income by selling handicrafts and providing catering services.