Text description provided by the architects
The Iron Construction Heilongtan International Tourism Resort project is a rural revitalization demonstration site on the waterfront of the No. 3 regulating reservoir in Renshou County, Meishan, Sichuan. Covering 29,000 square meters, the landscape design works with existing agricultural and forestry land to reshape the texture of rural scenery at a macro scale. The design concept, Return to the Wild Countryside, draws on the universal human affinity for green nature and terraced farmland. It follows a return-to-nature principle in concept, planting, materials and effect: no excessive ornamental planting, but rather gravel stepping stones through field ridges, wild miscanthus grasses and clear irrigation channels encircling rice paddies. The site preserves 85 percent of cultivated land, creating a relaxed, de-artificialized rural landscape that differentiates the project from competitors. Visitors reach the fields via elevated walkways that minimize disturbance to crops, allowing close contact with farming activities from spring planting to autumn harvest. The entrance area uses natural, unadorned materials that preserve local texture, with bamboo-framed structures that evoke western Sichuan character. The boardwalk averages two meters wide and connects the entrance to a waterside platform, winding through rice paddies. A water wheel, the largest structure on site, serves as a landmark and reinforces the rural atmosphere. Crops are primarily rice and rapeseed in rotation, supplemented by peach, cherry and citrus trees for seasonal color. Blue jacaranda serves as a specimen tree at a rest platform. Dry-laid rubble stone walls form field boundaries, with bamboo light fixtures. A gravity-flow irrigation channel uses the site elevation to water the paddies. An Archimedes screw water wheel at the wilderness dock provides interactive play for children while teaching water physics.