Beijing's largest park to open

Beijing's newest and largest park will open to the public next year, bringing with it jobs and a host of ecological benefits, according to city officials.

Work on the park, which covers an area twice the size of the ancient Summer Palace, in the city's southwest Fengtai district is well under way, and it should be ready to open alongside the ninth China International Garden Expo, which will start in May.

Sun Yushan, deputy director of the expo's planning office, said the 5.13-sq-km park will become a major cultural and recreational attraction, featuring the China Garden Museum, an area being called the "Splendid Valley", a lake holding more than 1.8 million cubic meters of water, and five exhibition zones.

"The urban greenbelt along the Yongding River, the city's mother river, will be developed into an eco-friendly garden park, and the expo will greatly accelerate the development of west Beijing," he said.

Hua Weijun, deputy director in charge of the expo's construction, added: "The lake will be grand and beautiful."

Hua added that the wetlands surrounding the park will purify 80,000 cubic meters of recycled water a day, ensuring good water quality in the lake and weakening wind speeds, cutting atmospheric dust and reducing the temperature difference between day and night.

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