Thousands of blue waves ripple, a hundred miles of embankment stretching. In early summer, strolling along the shore of Hongze Lake, the vast water surface is like delicate silk, flocks of water birds are playing on the water, and a moving picture scroll is slowly spreading in the sun.
From May 10th to 11th, sponsored by Xinhua Press Media Group, Jiangsu Economic News, Jiangsu Water Conservancy Information Center, and Jiangsu Hongze Lake Water Conservancy Project Management Office, the "Acura New Era Great Changes and Poetry Ode to High-quality Development" - a series of famous poets in Jiangsu Province were held on the shore of the beautiful Hongze Lake. This is also the first event of this year's series.
Water is the most abundant natural endowment, the most flexible ecological element and the most distinctive cultural symbol in Jiangsu, and the rivers, lakes and seas are the most blessed natural gifts in Jiangsu. Water has shaped Jiangsu's beautiful mountains, soft charm and tenacious character. In the long process of water control, the ancestors not only left a lot of poems, music, calligraphy and paintings with water to express their feelings and aspirations with water, but also produced a lot of water control figures, water control concepts, water control systems and splendid water control culture, containing the philosophical concept of harmony between man and water, profound water conservancy technology and rich and colorful folk customs, the condensation of these materials and spirits, forming a unique water culture gene in Jiangsu.
Hongze Lake is the fourth largest freshwater lake in mainland China and the "ecological green heart" of the Jianghuai Ecological Corridor. The Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government have always put the governance and protection of Hongze Lake in an important position, and formulated the "Implementation Opinions on Strengthening the Ecological Protection and Scientific Utilization of Hongze Lake" and the "Three-year Work Plan for the Governance and Protection of Hongze Lake" to promote the governance and protection of Hongze Lake at a high level. With the concerted efforts of all localities and relevant units along the lake, remarkable results have been achieved in the governance and protection of Hongze Lake, water security has been effectively guaranteed, water ecology and water environment have been effectively improved, water culture has been inherited and promoted, and the sense of gain, happiness and security of the surrounding people has been generally enhanced. In recent years, the Provincial Hongze Lake Management Office has implemented the decision-making and deployment of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government, actively performed the responsibilities entrusted by the Party Group of the Provincial Department of Water Resources, vigorously carried out the governance and protection of Hongze Lake, and made positive contributions to promoting the ecological restoration of Hongze Lake, the landing of fishermen, the return of polders to the lake, and the construction of flood detention areas.
Wu Jianfei, president and editor-in-chief of Jiangsu Economic News, said that in 2024, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, in order to eulogize the Communist Party of China and the great motherland, and show the positive actions, major contributions and happy lives of all walks of life and people in Jiangsu in the process of achieving high-quality development, the series of activities of the famous poet Jiangsu Xing of "Acura Poetry and Praise for High-quality Development in the New Era" was grandly launched. The poets came to the shore of Hongze Lake and saw the majestic water conservancy project, their hearts were surging and their poetry was surging, and they were overwhelmed by the wisdom and spirit of the ancient working people in water control, and praised the high-quality development of water conservancy in Jiangsu and the selfless dedication of Jiangsu water conservancy people today.
Subsequently, the poets collected wind in the Sanhezha National Water Conservancy Scenic Area. The sun is shining in the scenic area, the flowers are red and willow green, the pink walls are tiled, the butterflies are flying, and the cuckoo is sounding. Walk into the Hongze Lake Pavilion and the Sanhe Gate Pavilion, comprehensively understand the ancient and modern history of Hongze Lake and the Sanhe Gate through graphic exhibition boards, video images, etc., recall the long history of the Huai River and Hongze Lake governance, and feel the brilliant achievements of New China's water control. The Sanhe Sluice has been built into a comprehensive base integrating water conservancy scenic spots, water education, water conservancy heritage, and popular science education, and has become an important node for local tourism and water conservancy research. The magnificent Sanhe Gate has a total of 63 holes, a length of 700 meters, and 63 sets of hoists are installed, with a designed flood discharge capacity of 12,000 cubic meters per second. Since its completion, it has successfully resisted the major floods in 1954, 1991, 2003 and 2007, and has made outstanding contributions to ensuring the safety of 30 million acres of farmland and more than 26 million people's lives and property in the Lixiahe area. Zhang Gujun, a representative of the poet and a former first-level researcher of the Financial Audit Office of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Water Resources, said that he had not been to the Sanhe Gate for many years, and he was shocked to see the picturesque scenery here. Hongze Lake is like a swan with wings ready to fly, Hongze Lake Management Office is the tide of the new era, the protector of swans, and has created brilliant achievements on the great journey of realizing the Chinese dream.
The nearly 70-kilometer-long Hongze Lake embankment made the poets excited again. Hongze Lake Embankment was built in the fifth year of Jian'an in the Eastern Han Dynasty (200 AD), which has a history of more than 1,800 years and rich cultural accumulation. In 2014, as an important node of the Grand Canal's World Heritage application, it was included in the World Cultural Heritage List. In 2023, the "Hongze Ancient Irrigation Area", which relies on the Hongze Lake embankment, will be included in the World Heritage List of Irrigation Projects. The poet saw the Hongze Lake embankment in May, the ancient weir was majestic, the cedar trees were green, and the flowers were in full bloom, which was beautiful. The relics of water control here are abundant, such as the ruins of Zhouqiao Datang, the ruins of Xinba, the iron cattle of Zhenshui and the stone carvings of water control, etc., which make people seem to go back to the past, think about the past and explore the present, have thousands of thoughts, and gradually become poetic.
On the 11th, the poets boarded the boat into Hongze Lake, along the way drizzle, the embankment willows are like smoke, the reeds are new green, the lake is rippling, the long Hongze Lake embankment winds on the side of the boat, and a team of transport boats, full of hope and responsibility, enter the main irrigation canal and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal from Hongze Lake. Lu Xinmin, a member of the Chinese Writers Association, a member of the Chinese Poetry Society, the secretary-general of the Jiangsu Communications Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the chairman of the Writers Association, was very happy to participate in this collection. He said that water is the most charming and agile regional symbol in Jiangsu. Jiangsu water conservancy people, in the mission of guarding the peace of the rivers and lakes and inheriting and promoting the water culture, we must use poetry to record and praise all this.
Jiangsu Economic News reporter Wang Qi