Chanba is the district where the Chan and Ba rivers meet, east of the old city, and it is the clearest example in Xi'an of a piece of land being reimagined. For most of the twentieth century this was a floodplain of sand quarries, rubbish tips and unregulated building; from around 2004 the city began a long programme of ecological restoration, clearing the pits, reconnecting the watercourses, planting the banks and laying out public parks. The result is a low-density, green district that holds the city's conference and exhibition buildings, a stretch of riverside parkland, and the site of the 2011 World Horticultural Exposition.
The Expo Park
The expo grounds were kept as a permanent park after the event, and they are the main reason to come. They include a lake with a wide promenade, a creative industry park in the converted expo halls, a large conservatory and garden area, and a spread of landscaped lawns and woodland. A tower and a viewing structure from the expo remain as landmarks, and the whole site is flat, walkable and quiet on weekdays. Nearby, the district also holds a wetland park along the river, which is the better place for birds and for walking without any designed landscape around you.
Why it is worth a visit
Chanba is not a historic site and does not pretend to be. What it offers is a look at how a Chinese city is currently handling water and green space, on a scale that is hard to appreciate from a single park. It is also one of the few places in Xi'an where you can walk or cycle for several hours on continuous paths without crossing a road, and it is used mostly by residents rather than by tour groups, which keeps it calm.
Practical notes
The district is on the subway, with several stations along its northern and eastern edges, and the parks are free and open daily. Bicycles make the area much more usable, since the sites are spread out. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, and the wetland stretch is at its best during the spring and autumn migrations. Allow half a day if you want to see both the expo park and the wetland, and combine the trip with the Ba River greenways, which run into the same network of paths.
