After a flight out of Beijing in the early morning, we spent yesterday in the City of Li Yang, which is about one hour away from Nanjing. What a beautiful resort city it turned out to be. We met with the city administrator, their director of international relations, and a marketing director. My friend Meiling was with us, too.
Li Yang is a progressive city, with thoughtful planning. Tian Mu (or Tian Muhu) Lake is quite beautiful. It is a reservoir with a number of dams, and it is the focus of the resort area. Because it is the source of drinking water for Li Yang, they are very careful to keep the water clean and healthy. We saw blue skies there, and less smog.
The lake has a number of small islands within it, and we took a boat tour to see the lake and take a hike on one of the islands. The vegetation was lush, and a wooden boardwalk traced a path around the perimeter, and up and down some of the hilly areas. We even saw a waterfall - manmade, but designed to bring oxygen and keep the water flowing through the ponds and streams. Recycle bins were everywhere.
It was really nice to see such concern for the environment in country where we saw none of this only three years ago. Lots of other changes, too, which I'll talk about another time.
It is an unspoiled and beautiful park in a modern, small city of over one million people. Definitely worth a visit! Quiet and serene, with a five star resort (even by MY picky standards) and an inspired chef.
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