Beijing firm Turenscape has restored the heavily polluted Puyangjiang River in eastern China and turned its banks into an alluring park, crisscrossed by an elevated network of colourful sinuous boardwalks.

The Puyangjiang River Corridor (PRC) is a water treatment pilot launched in 2014 by the local government. The intention was to reclaim the aquatic ecosystems of this major waterway, after decades of unabated development and industrialisation.

The brief also tasked the designers with improving the overall living conditions of Pujiang, a city of 500,000 located in the basin the river flows through.

Serpentine boardwalks thread through the landscape.
© Turenscape

Today, the landscape is threaded with pedestrian and bike paths. Flora and fauna have returned, and the river is once again safe for swimming. The PRC, which is 16 km long and includes nearly 200 hectares of adjacent land, attracts thousands of visitors daily, looking to re-engage with nature.

Remediating ecosystems

Over the years, concrete channels had come to severely harm the river’s capacity to self-clean. Turenscape’s winning concept called for the concrete edges to be removed and riparian plains to be introduced.

Riparian edges remediate surface flows from the surroundings.
© Turenscape

The softening of the riverbanks helps with flood and pollution control. These vegetated stretches slow down and treat surface flows that are coming from nearby farms.

The Dawn Redwood Grove trail is a popular attraction.
© Turenscape

Native vegetation

The redesign was sensitive to the native vegetation of the area, preserving species like the Dawn Redwood and Wingnut trees.

The development has also leveraged the history of the precinct by retaining existing structures. Old aqueducts, bridges and water locks have been restored to their former glory.

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An on-site heritage bridge was preserved, tying up past and present.
© Turenscape

Bringing communities back

The project was commissioned by the local government as a part of a campaign to improve the city’s green space.

As a result, the PRC boasts colourful pathways and multi-functional platforms. Bridges span the river and unite communities on each side, reuniting the city to its river.

An iconic bridge connects communities formerly separated by the river.
© Turenscape

The park is a shared space for communities on both sides of the river.
© Turenscape

The PRC approach is exemplary of regenerative design. It protects existing ecosystems and restores ones that have been damaged. It reintroduces social space, making the river an attractive public amenity again.

Check out the Ecogradia podcast episode — season 1, episode 5 — with Yu Kongjian, director of Turenscape, the firm that designed this River Corridor, where he talks about his work.