# Xixi Wetland: Hangzhou's National Wetland Park

> Xixi Wetland in Hangzhou: an 11.5 km² urban wetland of rivers, fish ponds and villages west of the city, restored from 2003 and a national park since 2005.

Canonical: https://hangzhoumemory.org/xixi-wetland
Updated: 2026-11-01

Xixi Wetland is a maze of rivers, fish ponds and old villages on the western edge of Hangzhou, about 5 km from West Lake. Once a far larger marsh and a Southern Song royal retreat, about 11.5 km² of it became Xixi National Wetland Park in 2005.

## A wetland inside the city

Xixi takes its name from the Xixi river, and was once spoken of with West Lake and Xiling as Hangzhou's "three Xi". It is a secondary wetland — shaped by people as much as by nature — where about 70% of the park is water: six rivers crossing one another, side channels, lakes, marsh and fish ponds laid out like fish scales. More than 100 bridges cross the water within its 11.3 km², and the park is divided into a protected eastern zone, a central zone for visitors and a western zone closed off for landscape recovery.

Three long dykes carry footpaths across it: the **Fu Dyke**, 2.3 km from south to north across the whole park over six bridges whose names all contain *fu*, "good fortune"; the **Green Dyke**, 1.6 km from east to west between fish ponds; and the **Shou Dyke**, at 3.6 km the longest.

## From royal retreat to national park

People have lived around Xixi since the Neolithic; at its widest the historical wetland covered some 60 km². In the Southern Song it was a royal hunting ground and garden, in the Ming and Qing dynasties a place of private gardens, and for centuries its villagers raised silkworms and fish. Late in the 20th century the city spread into it: ponds were filled for houses and fish farms, factories moved in, and the water fell below grade V, the lowest on China's scale.

A protection project began in September 2003. More than 4,000 households were rehoused nearby, and the park opened in stages: the first area on 30 April 2005, the second — with Gaozhuang, the Green Dyke and a wetland botanical garden — in September 2007, and the western area in September 2008. About 300 former residents now work in the park as guides, drivers and boatmen. A city regulation in force since 1 June 2022 fixes the park's boundaries and bans discharging waste water, hunting wild animals and unauthorised tree felling inside it.

## Water, plants and birds

Since the restoration the water has improved to grade II, and the park counts 696 kinds of vascular plants — 475 more than before it opened. Five ecological reserve areas are set aside, with bird hides at several of them; a 2024 survey recorded 89 bird species, nearly half of all the species known in Hangzhou.

## Village traditions

Xixi keeps customs from its farming past. Each year at the Dragon Boat Festival, village boats from all around gather at Shentankou for a dragon boat meeting; bamboo flower baskets have been woven here for about 150 years; and the park holds persimmon, lotus, dragon boat and Mid-Autumn festivals through the year. Its own ten scenes include reeds like flying snow in autumn and red persimmons reflected in the water.

## Visiting

- **Getting there:** Metro Line 3 to Xixi Wetland South station (exit A, about 300 m to the main Zhoujiacun entrance) or Line 19 to Xixi Wetland North station (about 800 m to the north gate).
- **Hours (as published):** 8:30–18:30 from April to October and 8:30–17:30 from November to March, with last tickets an hour before closing.
- **One ticket, two areas:** since 2020 a day ticket admits once to both the eastern and western areas; only the Zhoujiacun entrance has gates for both.
- **Getting around:** on foot along the dykes, by electric cart or by rowed boat.

Xixi makes a contrast with the open, much-visited [West Lake](/west-lake-ten-scenes): flat, green and quiet, and at its most striking in autumn when the reeds turn white.

## Frequently asked questions

### How big is Xixi Wetland?

The national wetland park covers about 11.5 km², of which about 70% is water. The historical wetland was much larger, some 60 km².

### How do you get to Xixi Wetland?

By Metro Line 3 to Xixi Wetland South station, a short walk from the main Zhoujiacun entrance, or Line 19 to Xixi Wetland North station near the north gate.