Liangma River Revamp Shapes up Nicely, More Than Half Now Open

The walk down the bike-strewn path from my apartment to Chaoyang Park via Solana over the past six months has not been a particularly scenic one. Ever since the massive renovations of Liangma River were announced in February of last year and began shortly thereafter, a range of new but not exactly tourist-luring features descended on the neighborhood. These have included but are not limited to mounds of construction debris, ragged and bent astroturfed metal walls, and the occasional but shudder-inducing waft of weeks upon weeks of stale worker piss.

Luckily these quirks are merely the temporary byproducts of men hard at work and as the overhaul nears completion, running the length of the river from Xindong Lu up to the East Fourth Ring Road, the unsavory sights and smells are gradually parting to reveal what’s shaping up to be one of Beijing’s lushest linear ecological spaces.

When the plan to dredge the river and develop 9.3km of its banks was first announced close to 15 months ago – a means to help reduce air pollution and manage flooding – the government also billed it as a green, tourist-friendly, leisure hub. Judging by what has opened so far, we're inclined to agree, though let's hope the official name, "Liangma River International Waterfront Area" doesn't stick, lest we tempt destroying the quaint charm of its paved paths, weeping willows, and swimming retirees.

We should add that there doesn't appear to be a dedicated running track along the river, which shouldn't be too much of a problem given the generous width of most of the paths.

Hopping on our bike on a photography tour earlier this week, we tracked the river from its northeast corner down to the west. Here's what we found.

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Images: Tom Arnstein, Google Maps, Bill S.