Qingdao to make human activities harmless to oceans

China's coastal city of Qingdao has been stepping up efforts to ensure a peaceful co-existence between human activities and the development of its maritime resources. 

This comes after local authorities became aware that oceans, seas and coastal areas are critical to ensuring sustainable development.

Due to their concerted efforts, Qingdao is now on the rise as a new international shipping center. 

Yang Yong has more.

Reporter: A cruise ship named "Diamond's Glory", is now boarding passengers at Qingdao cruise center.

Before boarding, 69-year-old Jiang Yixing took pictures with his wife using his cell phone. This will be his first time traveling abroad on a cruise ship. 

"The place is not at all like what it used to be. Now it's a picturesque location, where I take pictures in the hope of remembering it. In the past this place used to be a messy port and now it's a beautiful scenic spot."

The old port area of Qingdao was built in 1892. Nurtured by the sea, Qingdao has prospered because of these ports. However, over time, the drawbacks of the traditional port development model gradually became more noticeable.

The Qingdao cruise center has been given a new look.[File Photo: sanwen8.cn]

Zhou Zhiyu, a port worker who retired nine years ago, still clearly remembers what the dock looked like when he began working there in 1975; loading and unloading cargo ships.

"In the 1970s and 1980s, the workers who did the loading and unloading all looked like coal miners, their skin covered by dirt and coal dust, while their teeth remained white." 

Over the years, the old port area has consistently been upgraded. 

The original coal and ore loading business at the port has gradually been transferred to Dongjiakou port area. The port, an area with over hundred years of history, has changed its function and turned into a modern cruise center for passengers.

Zhou Zhiyu explains again:

"Around nine years after my retirement, I could hardly find the place again. Last year, all retirees were asked to gather here before a spring outing. It took us a long time to find it, since this place looks completely new to us!"

Hao Ling, who was born in 1987, works at the Qingdao center for cruise ship visitors. Over the years, Hao Ling has witnessed more than 100,000 tourists arriving here, boarding over 100 Chinese and international cruise ships.

"Further planning is underway on the areas to the right of this venue. An area that spans around 400 thousand square meters will be turned into a port city for cruise ships. In addition to this passenger center, some high-level residential buildings, five-star hotels, as well as an ocean park will soon be built here."

Since 2013 Ren Yiping, professor with the China Ocean University spent as long as three years collecting data with his research team. They needed to verify that building an ocean park in Qindao is practical. In August 2016, Qingdao's Jiaozhou Bay obtained approval for the building of a state-level marine park, which later became the largest semi-closed gulf marine park in China.

Jiaozhou Bay's national marine park is located at the north of Jiaozhou Bay, with a total area of about 200 square kilometers. The sea-area covers about 54% of the total space of Jiaozhou Bay. The area is divided into three main areas; namely an area under key protection, an area focusing on urgent ecological rehabilitation as well as an area in which appropriate use of resources is allowed.

Ren Yiping explains:

"An ocean park is usually placed under special protection that includes not only the species of fish and shrimp living there. There have to be areas where people have a moderate use of maritime resources for recreational activities as well. For instance, Dagu River's estuary is an important fish and shrimp spawning base, and there are a large stretches of wetlands, which is an important migration habitat for lots of rare bird species. So we thought maybe we could turn this place into a park and put our concept of eco-tourism into practice."

The development of marine eco-tourism is a new method taken by local Jiaozhou Bay authorities in striking a balance between the development and protection of marine areas.

These efforts could convince local citizens that their hometown will become more charming and be more vital than ever.

For CRI, I'm Yang Yong.