Fuzhou tells its story by water

A boat glides quietly along the Jin'an River in Fuzhou, Fujian province, passing beneath bridges decorated with colorful paintings and skirting the green banks of the city. From the water, the city seems to slow down.

Yet this leisurely boat ride is the latest chapter in a much longer story about how Fuzhou has been bringing its waterways back into everyday life.

The city has 139 inland waterways stretching more than 295 kilometers, according to local authorities. In recent years, it has carried out comprehensive waterway treatment, including dredging, pollution control and ecological restoration. It has also developed riverside greenways and parks, helping turn once-neglected waterways into public spaces for recreation and tourism.

Now, visitors can do more than simply walk beside the water. They can get on it.

Since 2022, Fuzhou Water Cultural Tourism Co has opened 29 sightseeing routes covering more than 75 kilometers, with 10 in regular operation, including four key routes.

The 6.8-kilometer Jin'an River route is one of them. Starting from Wenquan Park, it passes the Hot Spring Museum and a waterway management exhibition center before reaching Guangming Port.

For visitors, it is part sightseeing trip, part city lesson.

"The water has to flow, the waterways have to connect, boats have to be able to pass, and there have to be stories to tell and scenery to see," says Wang Xiaolan, deputy general manager of the company.

Another popular route, linking West Lake and Baima River, offers a different experience. It connects West Lake Park with landmarks including the downtown tourism hotspot Sanfang Qixiang, while nighttime cruises take in illuminated riverside attractions.

Increasingly, the waterways are also becoming a hit with younger travelers.

Wang notes that many young visitors from outside Fuzhou discover the West Lake-Baima River route through Chinese social media platforms and make it a stop on their itineraries. New riverside photo spots give them more reasons to pause, snap pictures and share their trips.

The boat ride is only the beginning.

Fuzhou has been experimenting with "boat tour plus" products, pairing cruises with hot springs, museums and a panda-themed park, while offering cultural products and local handicrafts on board. At nearby parks, operators have added sightseeing trains, watercraft and other riverside experiences.

Even summer, normally a quiet season for Fuzhou's inland-waterway tourism because of the heat, has shown signs of life. Wang said passenger numbers this summer were up more than 50 percent year-on-year.

The transformation has been about giving the city's rivers a new role as ecological corridors, cultural storytellers and places where residents and visitors can slow down, look around and discover Fuzhou from a different angle, according to local authorities.