In early July, the first “water chestnut-picking festival” was inaugurated in Zhaoshan town in Liangzi Lake district, Ezhou, Hubei province. It attracted a large number of tourists all over the country and will last until August 28.

Among the 120,000 mu (8,000 hectares) of original ecological wetland, more than 80,000 mu (5,333 hectares) featured wild water chestnuts. In previous years, the water chestnuts didn’t attract much attention. This year, however, the chestnut-picking festival made the unknown Nanzhu village a hot spot for tourists.

“Each tourist should pay 30 to 50 yuan ($8.15) to rent a four-seat boat. He or she could then take all the water chestnuts they pick for free,” a local villager said. “The water chestnuts can be picked until the end of September.” The town has received more than 3,000 tourists since the beginning of July.

It is reported that Wuchu Avenue, which connects Wuhan and Ezhou, will be completed by the end of this year. A person in charge of Liangzi Lake district noted that apart from the interesting water chestnut picking festival, they also held other tourist activities such as the maple festival and blueberry festival.

Edited by Michael Thai and Le Qin