Yangtze island tours put kids in touch with nature

Parents and children visit Guangyang Isle for an ecological education tour in southwest China's Chongqing, July 3, 2023. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

CHONGQING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Guangyang Isle, the most extensive green island in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, has been turned into an ecological restoration and protection "classroom" for ecotourists and school children.

On July 3, a group of children and their parents from 15 families experienced a novel cultural study tour on the isle, located in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. The theme of the tour was the "summer phenology" of the isle, meaning its natural and agricultural features during summer.

During the half-day event, the students walked among the terraced paddy fields and an orchard, picking up plums and observing how the fields were farmed. They learned about the interactions between humans and nature, particularly the importance of protecting the ecological environment.

Some of the children pointed excitedly at some ducks swimming in the paddy fields, and Wu Hongkun, the teacher leading the tour, stopped to explain the benefits that ducks can bring to crop yields.

"Our goal is to take these students out of the traditional classes to learn more about nature. Guangyang Isle is an ideal place to put this concept into practice," said Wu. "For each month of the year, we can set up different themed study tours for children based on 24 solar terms, seasonal harvests and so on."

Children learn to identify plants during an ecological education tour on Guangyang Isle in southwest China's Chongqing, July 3, 2023. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

Wu added that one such tour is held almost every week, with more than 1,000 children in the largest group that they have guided.

Covering around 10 square km, Guangyang Isle has a vegetation coverage rate of over 90 percent, with 594 species of plants and 452 species of animals recorded.

The local ecosystem and biodiversity were once seriously threatened due to real-estate projects in the area. However, the local government brought harmful projects of this sort to a halt in 2017, starting the restoration of the environment on the island.

Li Yongwen, deputy general manager of Chongqing Guangyang Island Green Development Co., Ltd., said that on the basis of ecological restoration, the development potential of Guangyang Isle has also been unleashed through study tours, sports events and other eco-friendly services.

The isle now has eight different kinds of study tour, involving interesting activities like counting stars in the night sky and searching for insects. So far, it has received more than 600,000 visitors, with over 700 on-site study tours carried out already.

"To learn about how Mother Nature works is a very valuable experience for the kids," said Wen Xiao, a parent participating in the tour. "This is something that cannot be acquired by merely sitting in their classrooms. Such trips are interesting and inspiring for both the children and parents."