| Jincang Lake | |
| Official Name: | 金仓湖 |
| Settlement Type: | Artificial recreational wetland park |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | People's Republic of China |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Jiangsu |
| Subdivision Type2: | Prefecture-level city |
| Subdivision Name2: | Suzhou |
| Subdivision Type3: | Country-level city |
| Subdivision Name3: | Taicang |
| Area Total Km2: | 6 |
| Website: | http://www.tccx.gov.cn/ |
Jincang Lake (金仓湖, pinyin: JīnCāngHú) is an artificial wetland park; completed in 2008, located in Taicang, Suzhou, China.
In 2003, the government invested in constructing a new highway connecting Suzhou, Kunshan and Taicang. The soil was mainly taken from the village of Donglin in Taicang, leaving a relatively large space that the government decided to transform into Jincang Lake.
The project commenced in November 2007. After about ten months of hard work, in early October 2008, the project was finished and Jincang Lake (and its surrounding park) was opened for use to residents of Taicang.
Many organizers have chosen to use the park to hold festivals, competitions, and other large events since it was first opened to the public. Below, several notable events that have been held at the park are listed.
| Year | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Taicang International Bicycle Carnival Competition[1] | |
| 2010 | Bicycle Carnival Competition[2] | |
| 2011 | Jincang Lake Cooling Culture Festival[3] | |
| 2011 | Jincang Lake Tent Festival[4] | |
| 2011 | Taicang Tourist Culture Festival[5] |
Inside Jincang Lake, there are several areas unique in their features for tourists to enjoy.
One area is the Barefoot Forest Park (赤足森林, Pinyin:ChìZúSēnLín).[6] [7] The concept originates in Germany, where it was first established to allow local residents to "get closer to nature and walk barefoot to feel nature's existence". In Taicang, there is a large presence of German companies and German nationals operating and living within the city. In order to provide a leisure place for both foreign and local people, the government decided to build this barefoot forest park as an homage to those that exist in Germany.