Zhenjiang Dingmao river wetland protection area

A clean river, nice trees and blue skies. Nice to find all three at the same time in China.

Zhenjiang Dingmao River Wetland Protection Area… what a long name for such a peaceful area of the city. Finding some open space that is relatively free of pollution in China is really hard, but I have taken to exploring the countryside in China recently and have been finding some really interesting places to explore. However, I have to preface this blog with a warning that most Chinese people don’t want foreigners exploring the countryside; they only want foreigners to see the big cities that are well-developed. The countryside is something that most Chinese people try to hide away from foreigners in China, and it is one of the reasons I have never really spent any time in the countryside until now.

I guess in a few years, all of this will be developed but right now it is absolutely empty and peaceful around here.

I have recently begun a project about Chinese rural farmers and the wealth gap in China, so I have explored the countryside around my base city in China and found some really peaceful places to explore. One of the first places I found was the Zhenjiang Dingmao River Wetland Protection Area. The area is still currently being developed, but it is really pretty and very quiet, with only a few fishermen around and lots of birds. It is so nice to hear birds singing again. In Chinese cities, it is very rare to hear birds sing, so hearing so many here in the countryside was amazing.

My only company around here are some old fishermen. They are friendly enough but hate their photo been taken.

My best guess is that the Zhenjiang Dingmao River Wetland Protection Area will be turned into a park in the future for people to enjoy, but right now it is free if you can find your way to it.

Trees and flowers. I don’t see this too many times lately in China.

I haven’t walked around trees for nearly 10 years now. Most of the time, I am stuck in cities, and most places are polluted, so you mostly stay indoors unless you are working outside. Since I posted some of these photos on my Chinese social media accounts, I have been bombarded by people asking me where I took these photos so they can go there as well.

One mans’ weed is another mans’ flower

My base city has tons of these small yellow flowers all over the place. I think it makes the city look very pretty, but many of my Chinese friends call these flowers ugly or say that they are weeds and wish that people would dig them up and destroy them. Personally, I think the flowers are really pretty.

Zhenjiang Dingmao river wetland protection area flowers a canal that runs through Zhenjiang.

I have no idea what these poles are doing but they are pretty cool in my opinion.

Huge power lines kind of ruin a lot of the scenery.

There are huge power lines running through the area, unfortunately, but this is common in the countryside. Many factories get built in the countryside and they need a lot of power for their production lines. They are not pretty to look at, but they are a part of life here in China.

Really old bridge, I waited for nearly one hour for an old Chinese man to walk across it. But I shot it with my film camera in black and white. Once I have devolved the film, I will post the photo.

Entrance to one of the small little farms.

The lonely fisherman.

I walked past this fisherman early in the day, and when I came back the same way, the fisherman was still there. He had not moved all day. I guess it was a peaceful day for him. I am not sure if there are many fish in the river, but he was extremely persistent. I really enjoyed exploring this area, and I will keep looking for more hidden gems of nature like this in the future.

Shaun.