Hong Kong Wetland Park is a conservation, education and tourism facility, located at the northern part of

Tin Shui Wai Tin Shui Wai New Town is a satellite town in the northwestern New Territories of Hong Kong. Originally a ' fish pond area, it was developed in the 1980s as the second new town in Yuen Long District and the eighth in Hong Kong. It is due northw ...

, in

Yuen Long Yuen Long is a town in the western New Territories, Hong Kong. To its west lie Hung Shui Kiu (), Tin Shui Wai, Lau Fau Shan and Ha Tsuen, to the south Shap Pat Heung and Tai Tong, to the east Au Tau and Kam Tin (), and to the north Nam Sang W ...

. It was to be an ecological mitigation area (EMA) for the

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s lost due to

Tin Shui Wai New Town Tin Shui Wai New Town is a satellite town in the northwestern New Territories of Hong Kong. Originally a ' fish pond area, it was developed in the 1980s as the second new town in Yuen Long District and the eighth in Hong Kong. It is due nort ...

development. The Hong Kong Wetland Park comprises a visitor centre, Wetland Interactive World, and a Wetland Reserve. The Wetland Interactive World has themed exhibition galleries, a theatre, a souvenir shop, an indoor play area (swamp adventure) and a resource centre. Wetland Park currently holds the highest recorded temperature in Hong Kong, at on 22 August 2017, the day before

Typhoon Hato Typhoon Hato, known in the Philippines as Severe Tropical Storm Isang, was a strong tropical cyclone that struck South China in August 2017. Developing as the thirteenth named storm and the fourth typhoon of the Pacific typhoon season, Hato fo ...

affected the region.

History

In 1998, a project named International Wetland Park and Visitor Centre Feasibility Study was initiated by the

Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (; formerly the Agriculture and Fisheries Department () before 2000, of the Hong Kong Government is responsible for agriculture and fisheries in Hong Kong, conservation projects and issu ...

and the

Hong Kong Tourism Board The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) is a Government-subvented body founded in 2001. The Board replaced the Hong Kong Tourist Association (HKTA) established in 1957. It has 15 branch offices and representative offices in 6 markets around the w ...

with a view to expanding the ecological mitigation area to a wetland ecotourism attraction. After concluding that it was feasible to develop a Wetland Park at the site without compromising its ecological mitigation functions, and that development of the Wetland Park would also enhance the ecological function of the site to a conservation, education and tourism facility, the concerned parties started the Wetland Park Project, which is one of the Millennium projects of the Administrations. In 2007, the park was one of five winners of the Awards for Excellence: Asia Pacific Competition, from the Urban Land Institute.

Facilities

Themed exhibition galleries with floor areas ranging from showcase the importance of wetland on

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

civilisation A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of State (polity), a state, social stratification, urban area, urbanization, and Symbol, symbolic systems of communication beyond natural language, natur ...

and

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

. Visitors can learn more about the native flora and fauna of Hong Kong through the animals and models displayed in the Living Wetland Gallery, such as

false gharial The false gharial (''Tomistoma schlegelii''), also known by the names Malayan gharial, Sunda gharial and tomistoma is a freshwater crocodilian of the family Gavialidae native to Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra and Java. It is listed as Vu ...

mouse deer Chevrotains, or mouse-deer, are small even-toed ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, the only extant members of the infraorder Tragulina. The 10 extant species are placed in three genera, but several species also are known only f ...

and

green turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the Family (biology), family Cheloniidae. It is the only species In biology, a spec ...

. The Wetland Reserve consists of re-created habitats designed for water fowls and other wildlife. The Wetland Discovery Centre, located in the Wetland Reserve, provides visitors more hands-on experience on local wetlands. Other facilities include Stream Walk, Succession Walk, Mangrove Boardwalk and three

bird hide A bird hide (blind or bird blind in North America) is a shelter, often camouflaged, that is used to observe wildlife, especially birds, at close quarters. Although hides or hunting blinds were once built chiefly as hunting aids, they are now commo ...

s situated next to the fish pond, mudflat and riverside, leading visitors to venture habitats of wildlife such as

fiddler crab The fiddler crab or calling crab may be any of more than one hundred species of semiterrestrial marine crabs in the family Ocypodidae, well known for their sexual dimorphism, sexually dimorphic claws; the males' major claw is much larger than th ...

mudskipper Mudskippers are any of the 23 extant species of amphibious fish from the subfamily Oxudercinae of the goby family Oxudercidae. They are known for their unusual body shapes, preferences for semiaquatic habitats, limited terrestrial locomotion and ...

and the rare

black-faced spoonbill The black-faced spoonbill (''Platalea minor'') is a species of wading bird in the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae, found in eastern Asia. This species has the most restricted distribution of the six spoonbill species, and it is the ...

. File:hkwetlandparkindoor.jpg, Visitor Centre Lobby File:Hong Kong Wetland Park Stream Walk 2012.JPG, Stream Walk File:Hong Kong Wetland Park866.jpg, Succession Walk File:Mangrove Boardwalk (HK Wetland Park).jpg, Mangrove Boardwalk File:Hong Kong Wetland Park893.jpg, Wildside Walk

Pui Pui Home

Pui Pui is a crocodile's name, which is a Chinese pun indicating that it came from Shan Pui River and is the apple of the public's eye. On 29 August 2006, she was moved into her landscaped enclosure and can be easily viewed by the public. Pui Pui's Home was designed to provide the reptile with a healthy and comfortable living environment. The outdoor enclosure is , of which 70% is pool area. With a maximum depth of , the pool is landscaped with plants to provide sheltered areas, hiding places and basking areas for the reptile. Outdoor facilities include some infra-red heaters, a heat pad and a weighing scale. Water in the pool is continuously circulated through a filtration system.

Transportation

Wetland Park is served by the MTR Light Rail, and the

Wetland Park stop Wetland Park () is an MTR Light Rail stop. It is located at ground level beside Wetland Park Road, between Hong Kong Wetland Park and Grandeur Terrace, in Tin Shui Wai, Yuen Long District. It began service on 7 December 2003 and belongs to Zone 5A ...

and

Tin Sau stop Tin Sau () is an MTR Light Rail stop. It is located at ground level at the junction of Tin Sau Road and Tin Kwai Road, near Vianni Cove, in Tin Shui Wai, Yuen Long District Yuen Long District (formerly romanised as Un Long) is one of the dis ...

belong to Zone 5A for single-ride ticket.

Routes

* 705: Tin Shui Wai Circular (Counter-Clockwise) * 706: Tin Shui Wai Circular (Clockwise) * 761P:

to Tin Wing (Limited special service: departing from each terminal every 30 minutes 1000–1500 daily. Normal service terminates at Tin Yat instead of Tin Wing.)

History

Facilities

Pui Pui Home

Transportation

Routes

See also

References

External links