Large wetland park built in Winter Olympic host city

An artist's impression of the wetland park. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A large wetland park is under construction near Beijing, and will eventually stand as the largest park in North China by 2020.

The Guanting Reservoir National Wetland Park, located about 100 kilometers northwest of Beijing in Huailai county of Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, is set to cover 13,539 hectares with an investment of 3.2 billion yuan ($479 million), according to local authorities in charge of the project.

"The main aim is to preserve the environment and improve the water quality of Guanting Reservoir, which is a major source of fresh water to the capital," said a representative of the plan for constructing the park.

According to the plan, construction of the park began earlier this year and will be finished in 2020.

Zhangjiakou is the co-host city with Beijing for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

A Guanting Reservoir grand bridge is also under construction for a Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway project to serve the Games.