On May 9, Hebei Daily published the full page special topic “ZEHO ECO has been working hard for 16 years to help Tangshan build a new highland of green transformation and development”. Behind the gradual greening and beautification of Tangshan, an industrial city, and its magnificent transformation from a carbon source city to a carbon sink area, ZEHO ECO, as a participant and witness in the construction of Tangshan's ecological civilization, has put the concept of sustainable development and Nature-based Solutions for the process of urban ecological restoration, environmental regeneration and industrial upgrading.

May 9 Hebei Daily © Hebei Daily

ZEHO ECO Has Been Working Hard for 16 Years to Help Tangshan Build a New Highland of Green Transformation and Development

At the foot of Yanshan mountain, by the Bohai Bay. Tangshan, known as the “cradle of modern Chinese industry”, has opened the door of an era here; As a phoenix city that has experienced many vicissitudes, the story of quenching by fire and rebirth by Nirvana has been staged here. Now, standing at the forefront of green development, this industrial city has steadily changed into a butterfly, striving to write a new chapter in integrating industrial civilization and ecological civilization.

Under the strong leadership of successive leading groups of the Tangshan Municipal Party Committee and the Tangshan Municipal Government, “work one after another and draw a blueprint to the end”, the city has once again achieved a magnificent turn. Behind this turn, there is the shadow of 16 years' deep cultivation of Beijing ZEHO Waterfront Ecological Environment Treatment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as ZEHO ECO).

As a participant and witness in the construction of Tangshan's ecological civilization, ZEHO ECO applies the concept of sustainable development and Nature-based Solutions throughout the process of urban ecological restoration, environmental regeneration and industrial upgrading, so that Tangshan can not only become green and beautiful but also change from a carbon source city to a carbon sink area, and embark on the road of green transformation and development.

From the “city scar” to the connection of water systems and the fragrance of flowers, Tangshan Huahai has become the “back garden” of the city

Nanhu Lake: Urban brownfield has become a grand event of the world garden

In Tangshan, Nanhu Lake is a legendary area - it was the first subsidence area with uneven surface and water depressions due to coal mining. Later, the destruction of the great earthquake aggravated the collapse of the settlement area. Because it is not suitable for living, it can only be left unused and abandoned, and eventually becomes a place with mountains of garbage, cross-flow of sewage, overgrown weeds and rampant mosquitoes and flies. This makes it a “Scar” on the backbone of Tangshan city.

In the process of comprehensive treatment of Nanhu Lake coal mining subsidence area, ZEHO ECO, as the contractor, found in the project's implementation that only doing a good job in the landscaping project on the bank can not solve the water quality problem of Nanhu Lake and can not achieve the effect of clear water and green shore.

After continuous discussion and exploration, ZEHO ECO focuses on waterfront ecological governance and ecological restoration, and creatively applies ecological engineering methods to repair and maintain the stability of the damaged natural environment. After restoration, the Nanhu Lake has realized the ecological transformation from urban brown land to a central park. In recent years, nearly 500 hectares of abandoned wasteland have been afforested, 1million trees have been planted, and over 500,000 square meters of lawns have been planted. 221 species of plants are lush, with a greening coverage rate of 65%, attracting over 100 species of wild birds back and forth, forming an ecological landscape of harmonious coexistence of wetland plants, barren plants and landscape plants.

A cluster of green trees, a lake of clear water, a leaf of boat, Tangshan Nanhu Lake after ecological treatment, is full of beautiful scenery.

Through ecological restoration and comprehensive management, the once barren coal mining subsidence land has become an ecologically beautiful “urban reception hall”, becoming a “model for the treatment and restoration of coal mining subsidence areas”, making the surrounding climate more pleasant, the city more livable and the environment more beautiful. It has not only attracted many tourists, but also become the core site of the 2016 Tangshan World Horticultural Exposition.

The World Horticultural Exposition is known as the “Olympic grand meeting of the world garden art”, and the requirements for the host city are extremely strict. However, the Nanhu Lake does not occupy any arable land, turning decay into a magical innovation, and finally Tangshan won the right to host the 2016 World Horticultural Exposition. ZEHO ECO has helped with the overall design and core area construction of the Expo based on Nanhu Lake.

In terms of planning, guided by the top-level ecological design, the Expo will be connected with the positioning of urban development; In terms of implementation, ZEHO ECO relies on the analysis of ecological base, based on land use types and geological conditions, uses the pseudo-natural ecological engineering method, combines with fly ash recycling, waste landfill treatment, settlement area suitability ecological slope protection, etc., to repair and maintain the stability of the damaged natural environment, and create a safe, open, diverse and comfortable ecosystem.

In the Nanhu Lake, Longshan mountain, which is made of fly ash mountain through ecological restoration, stands surrounded by green trees.

During the 171 day World Expo event, Nanhu received over 5 million tourists from home and abroad, driving Tangshan to receive more than 10 million tourists, with a total tourism revenue of over CNY 10 billion, a year-on-year increase of about 40%. Around the core scenic spot of Nanhu Lake, the planned Nanhu ecological city in Tangshan has also been a great success: 105 square kilometers of land has increased by over 100 billion yuan compared with that before development, generating 1:100 economic benefits. After the grand event, the Nanhu Lake in Tangshan, as a tourist attraction, was open to tourists. The good ecological environment and pleasant living environment not only enabled the public and tourists to have a happy life and a good place for leisure and entertainment, but also effectively increased employment and residents’ income. The development of the “ecological +” industry led to the interactive development of the city’s catering, accommodation, transportation, entertainment and other industries, and the social value of ecological products became increasingly apparent, It has provided a benchmark for the transformation of over 130 resource-based cities in China.

The green trees and clear water of the Nanhu Lake in Tangshan set off the buildings nearby, forming a beautiful picture of the city.

In 2020, the project was selected into the list of typical cases of realizing the value of ecological products by the Ministry of Natural Resources. It has also won the China Habitat Environment Example Award, Dubai International Best Example Award for Improving the Living Environment, Habitat Classic Architectural Planning and Design Scheme Competition Planning, Environmental Double Gold Award, etc.

Caofeidian: An ecological new area grows on the saline alkali beach

From the main urban area to the southeast, there is another urban area under the “one port and two cities” plan of Tangshan - Caofeidian. If you drive to the Binhai New Area, which has sprung up on the saline alkali beach, you will be amazed by the beautiful scenery of the lush forest fields, the rice ponds, the floating grass flowers in the wetlands and the rustling wind in the salt pond. Both this beautiful ecological corridor and the new city of Caofeidian have left the steps of ZEHO ECO persistent scientific research, exploration and innovative practice.

As early as 2006, when the ecological construction of Caofeidian was at the starting point, ZEHO ECO took part in the ecological construction of this coastal new area, helping Caofeidian take the lead in walking out the road of a demonstration ecological city guided by the concept and method of symbiotic city.

With technology research and development driving design and construction, ZEHO ECO has overcome the academic problems of coastal saline alkali land greening, and explored a set of effective technical measures for coastal saline alkali land improvement and working ideas of cascade greening according to local conditions. The built Caofeidian comprehensive service area, the environmental improvement project along the Nachao River, and the Caofeidian wetland tourism resort are known as “oasis in the ocean” because of their appropriate green quantity, reasonable structure, perfect functions, and the resilience and sustainability of the coastal ecosystem.

Over the past 10 years, Caofeidian new city, a wasteland with “salty water and alkaline land”, has gradually become a beautiful coastal city with blue-green interweaving, beautiful beaches and clear water and green banks, with a forest coverage rate of over 18.64%, and has become a “Hebei Coastal growth pole” for Tangshan City and even Hebei Province to transform from an inland resource-based economy to a coastal open economy.

In the Caofeidian section of the Tangshan Caofeidian ecological corridor, the emerald green of seedlings and the blue of rice ponds are intertwined, forming a beautiful and harmonious ecological picture.

The ten years witnessed the significant changes in Caofeidian are also the ten years of rapid development with the strength of ecological technology. In 2020, ZEHO ECO once again undertook the green corridor design project in Caofeidian, connecting the “double cores” of Tangshan urban area.

On the plot 100 meters along the expressway, ZEHO ECO did not choose the traditional design mode of protective forest belt, but created an ecological, scenic path in combination with the regulations of “simultaneous high-quality development of mountains and seas” in Tangshan City and the ecological restoration and maintenance along the road.

Near the Caofeidian Road, there are many fish ponds, wetlands and salt ponds, and the soil salinity is too high to grow well. This once became a major problem in the project's progress.

After extensive investigation and in-depth demonstration with local landscape experts, ZEHO ECO finally planted salt and alkali tolerant plants such as Tamarix andraeanum and okra because saline and alkali land restoration in coastal areas is arduous and the greening and beautification is difficult. The basic principle is to adapt trees to the right place and minimize the practice of soil improvement. In order to ensure the good growth of vegetation in the areas with high salinity, geotechnical cloth, soft spring tube, gravel layer, mountain skin stone, etc. are used for saline alkali land engineering treatment, and energy-saving and efficient irrigation system applies to realize both water saving and salt pressing, and a new path for ecological restoration of saline alkali land is explored.

While using the saline alkali land improvement technology suitable for the environment of Caofeidian, ZEHO ECO has designed four scenic sections “autumn scenery in forest fields, spring scenery in rice ponds, grass flowers in wetlands and listening to the wind in salt ponds” according to the natural scenery, full using the original landscape value of the site to create a “city port” scenic avenue with a sense of festival and distinct characteristics. Strictly implement the greening concept of “ecological sustainability”, and adhere to the principle that the forest is suitable for the soil, the water is suitable for the environment, and the trees are suitable for the land. In this process, common tree species and community groups in the region are selected for reasonable zoning planting, and high carbon sink tree species are selected to enrich the planting level and form a three-dimensional carbon pool.

Today, this is not only a green avenue and a scenic avenue but also an Industrial avenue and a cultural avenue to enhance the city’s taste and drive its transformation. It has not only become an ecological sustainable green corridor to promote Tangshan to build a national forest city, but also a benchmark project for landscape ecological restoration of coastal saline alkali land. It has further improved the overall ecological pattern of Tangshan and helped the city unswervingly take the road of ecological priority, green and low-carbon development.

Tangshan Huahai: A new engine for carbon neutral development

First Kaiping City, then Tangshan city. Kaiping was once an important military town, a famous merchant town, and an industrial cradle in Chinese history. As the old urban area of Tangshan, Kaiping developed the earliest, but it is also the place that suffered the most from extensive energy economy and the deepest damage to the ecological environment. After feeding the rich coal, it left a scarred urban brown land.

In 2018, the Tangshan Municipal government started the construction of flower sea in the industrial wasteland in Kaiping District. As a participant in the ecological construction of Tangshan City for many years, ZEHO ECO has undertaken a new task - in the face of heavy pollution and complex geological conditions caused by many mined-out areas, shafts, collapse areas and seismic fault zones here, ZEHO ECO proposes to highlight the function of flower sea and advance operation planning with the characteristics of ecological restoration, intelligent security and sustainable development, to realize the dislocation development with the Nanhu Lake, and, make overall planning, planning, landscape Operation, ecology, architecture, exhibition and other professional work, and strive to realize the green butterfly transformation of this area from urban brown land to ecological flower sea.

Tangshan Huahai lakeside buffer zone

ZEHO ECO adheres to the green concept and ecological technology of “ecological restoration”, uses 2.3 million cubic meters of construction waste and harmless stacking materials, and integrates geotechnical technology to build the mountain. Build a self purification and self-sustaining water ecosystem to form an ecological conservation sponge. Use ecological treatment facilities to purify the construction sewage in the site and realize 100% reuse. Through the recycling of waste plants, the crushing and covering of green waste, the composting of garden waste and the classified collection of domestic waste, a waste recycling system is built. While repairing the landscape, efforts are made to control carbon emissions and improve carbon reserves.

Changguan Deck, the commanding height of Tangshan flower sea, stands among the green trees and flowers

In order to ensure the sustainable development of Huahai, on December 31, 2021, the people’s Government of Kaiping District of Tangshan City signed a framework agreement with ZEHO ECO to jointly create a “Tangshan Huahai · carbon neutralization technology demonstration zone” focusing on popular ecological and cultural experience projects and radiating Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei customers. The carbon neutralization technology demonstration zone includes the “five space carriers” of the ecological steward, the kingdom of life, the low-carbon future community, the red age culture film and television base, the metaverse science and technology industry cluster, the “carbon neutralization technology demonstration” industrial fund, the “carbon neutralization practice base” Curriculum research and development, the “low-carbon emission reduction” high-end education, and the “four light asset projects” of the Tangshan China carbon neutralization sustainable development international forum.

Taking this signing as the starting point, we are actively integrating resources and forces in urban planning, ecological construction, digital technology, industrial operation and other fields with ecology, fully investing in the upgrading and operation of Tangshan Huahai. Based on ecological restoration, we will further activate the vitality of the area, supplement the functional weaknesses, and help Tangshan Huahai enter the 3.0 era. Tangshan will further merge the road of green transformation and development, help Tangshan realize the magnificent transformation from “China’s carbon source” to “China’s carbon sink”, and create the demonstration value of industrial city transformation.

Today, Nanhu Lake, Caofeidian and Huahai, which are taking part in the construction of harmony ecology, have become the new business cards of Tangshan’s ecological transformation. ZEHO ECO will also continue to take the construction of ecological civilization as the guide, based on the theory of symbiotic City, actively solve urban problems through ecological technology, activate regional economy, help to realize the “flying together” of environmental protection and economic development, and promote the sustainable development of Tangshan.