Yellow River Old Course Natural Willow Forest Wood Plank

The Yellow River old coursenatural willow forest wood plank is 799m long and 2.6m wide, located in the branch of the Yellow river old course, mainly consisting of two parts. 

1. Tall flora zone growing near the water, namely, the natural willow forest. The willows belong to the category of salix integra, whose wickers are very soft. It is different from the local salix matsudana koidz, salix babylonica, and salix leucopithecia kimura. The salix matsudana koidz is too blunt, salix babylonica is too filtatious whereas salix leucopithecia kimura is clustered. Salix integra have the merits of the three, soft buttough, stalwart but whirling.

The seeds of the willows are washed down from the upper reaches of the Yellow River to root and grow here. They have no trunks, but growing in the form of crossing wickers. Therefore, in the process of growth, it will continue to spread around and look like mushrooms, so it is called mushroom willow by the local people. This kind of willow is only suitable for growing in marsh wetlands, which breathes by the developed hair roots.

2. Guanhe Tower; in October, 2009, President Hu Jintao made an inspection in Dongying and climbed on the tower to watch the Yellow River in distance. In front of the tower, the vast waters are the old course of yellow river. To make full use of the wide surface, the protection area planned the Yellow River Estuary Park in 2009 and put into use in 2010, so it can better meet the visitors’ need of getting close to and experiencing the wetland. Behind the Guanhe Tower, there is a natural willow forest of near 20,000mu. Looking around, a vast green constitutes a booming vitality. In 2009, President Hu Jintao once stood here and left a photo of overlooking the Yellow River.