Published : 25/11/2025
Seen those painting-like cedar creeks in National Geographic? Across wetland parks along the Yangtze River, thousands of pond cypresses and dawn redwoods form unique "water forests".
These landscapes shift with the seasons—from lush green to serene autumn tones. Here are six remarkable China's water forests to note for your next holiday, each offering truly stunning views.
Hubei Zhaoxiyuan Forest Farm
Zhaoxiyuan Forest Farm (湖北趙西垸林場) is located at the junction of Xiantao City and Qianjiang City in Hubei Province and is rich in forest resources.
This vast floating forest covers over a thousand mu and is composed of more than 20,000 pond cypresses. It has been developed into a rural wetland park of over a thousand mu, with the floating forest area exceeding 300 mu.
Every year, it attracts a large number of wild waterfowl such as egrets and night herons to inhabit and reproduce.
The scenery here changes endlessly with the four seasons. The colourful leaves of the pond cypresses are a spectacular sight.
The forest is full of life in early spring, offers thick shade in midsummer, displays resplendent red leaves in late autumn, and sees the wintersweet bloom in harsh winter. Photography enthusiasts are sure to find pleasant surprises with every visit.
If you are lucky, you might see flocks of egrets and wild birds flying among the trees, with mist rising from the water's surface, making it seem like a fairytale wonderland.
Occasionally, there are also fishermen on connected small boats, performing fishing demonstrations on the lake, which is also an excellent choice for a photo opportunity.
Yangzhou Baoying Lake National Wetland Park
Baoying Lake National Wetland Park (揚州寶應湖國家濕地公園) is located in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province.
As early as the 1950s and 1960s, tens of thousands of dawn redwoods were planted in this wetland park, covering an area of over 2,000 mu, earning it the reputation of "Central Jiangsu's No.1 Great Forest Oxygen Bar".
Visitors can take a small bamboo raft and travel through the floating forest, admiring the dense cypress groves on both sides, while reaching out to touch the lotus flowers by the water's edge.
Occasionally, you can also pass under bridges, experiencing the leisure of ancient poets who roamed mountains and rivers.
When autumn arrives, the tens of thousands of dawn redwoods are dyed orange-red by the autumn sun, interspersed with smaller green and yellow trees.
This is the perfect time to use a drone for an aerial video, which can capture a more layered and magnificent picture.
Besides the visual enjoyment, the fresh and pure air of Baoying Lake also makes many visitors pause in their tracks, temporarily forgetting the hustle and bustle of daily city life. It is a good place for relaxation and self-cultivation!
Read more: Ulan Butong, the "natural gallery" in China's Inner Mongolia
Wuhan Zhangdu Lake Wetland Park
Zhangdu Lake (武漢漲渡湖濕地公園) is located in the southeastern part of Xinzhou District, Wuhan. The wetland park is a typical freshwater lake nature reserve on the north bank of the Yangtze River and is the closest one to the river.
It is also a migration stopover and wintering site for rare migratory birds. Over 10,000 pond cypresses, reaching 20 metres or more in height, have been planted in the park. The water forest is lush and vibrantly green.
In late autumn, the leaves of the dawn redwood trees are fiery red. The multicoloured scene, like an artist's overturned colour palette, forms an incredibly beautiful ink painting scroll.
If you visit Wuhan's Zhangdu Lake Wetland, consider taking a small boat to weave through the green waters, admire the form of the pond cypresses up close, and experience this untouched realm where the water and sky merge into one amidst a vast expanse of misty waves.
Hangzhou Qingshan Lake
Qingshan Lake (杭州青山湖), alongside West Lake and Thousand Islet Lake, is ranked as one of Hangzhou's three major lakes, and the most worthwhile sight on the lake is the water forest.
The pond cypress forest in the lake's water grows lush and dense, tall and graceful. The tree shadows, the glimmer of the lake, the sky and the mountain scenery sketch an extremely exquisite landscape picture, making the mist-shrouded Qingshan Lake as beautiful as a fairyland.
It is worth mentioning that over a hundred species of wild animals live in the lake, and photography enthusiasts should not miss capturing scenes of egret flocks playing in the water.
Read more: A winter trip to China: Why is "China's Snow Town" so popular?
Tianquan Lake in Huai'an
Tianquan Lake (江蘇天泉湖), located in Xuyi County at the southernmost tip of Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province, is the largest mountain lake in northern Jiangsu.
The water forest here dates back to the 1990s, when the planting of redwoods was promoted during the ecological development of Tianquan Lake.
Today, Tianquan Lake has become an eco-tourism destination with distinct scenery for each of the four seasons.
In spring, streams gurgle while water birds play on the surface, creating a scene that is both lively and unique. In autumn, the brightly coloured redwoods stand tall in Tianquan Lake, forming a unique and captivating panorama.
Shanghai Qingxi Country Park
Located in the Qingpu District of Shanghai, Qingxi Country Park (上海青西郊野公園) is centred around Dalian Lake.
It has been developed into three functional zones: an ecological conservation zone, a watertown farmland demonstration zone, and a fishing village leisure and experience zone.
The highlight of the park is undoubtedly the nearly hundred-mu water forest, hailed as the "pond cypress marvel". In autumn, it turns a fiery red, like a "fairytale forest" of breathtaking beauty that makes you want to stay forever.
It is recommended that visitors take the water boardwalk to wander through the water forest, and the best times to visit are spring and autumn.
In spring, the dawn redwoods sprout new buds, and the leaves are emerald green and a little cute; in autumn, the leaves of the dawn redwoods turn a brilliant yellow, looking like a rich watercolour painting at a glance.
Here, whether using a mobile phone, a professional DSLR camera, or aerial photography, capturing the beauty of the water forest is as easy as pie.
China's territory is vast, so how could the fairytale-like "water forests" be limited to just these 6! In the future, when you have the chance to travel back to the Chinese Mainland, I believe everyone will discover even more great places to visit.
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