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The idea for the Chaobai River Basin regeneration project emerged from a critical recognition of the landscape’s historical significance and its subsequent decline due to the rapid urbanization process of China.
For centuries, the basin’s 28 villages thrived in symbiosis with the river, relying on seasonal flooding for rice cultivation, shipbuilding, and water-based cultural practices. However, mid-century channelization—marked by rigid concrete embankments—severed the human-river connection, leading to ecological fragmentation, cultural erosion, and economic stagnation. The project was conceived as a response to these challenges, aiming to restore the basin’s legacy of abundance by reweaving ecological, cultural, and economic systems into a cohesive vision.
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The Chaobai River Basin project reknits ecological, cultural, and economic ties between the river and surrounding landscapes. By replacing concrete embankments with adaptive floodplains, natural water cycles are restored, benefiting downstream urban areas. The 600km retrofitted canals link farms to migratory bird routes, enhancing regional biodiversity.
Culturally, waterfront districts and festivals attract urban visitors, bridging rural-urban divides. Economically, diversified agroecology (rice-crab systems, lotus tourism) supplies cities while sustaining villages. Participatory planning with 28 villages ensures local needs drive development, avoiding disruptive urbanization. The river becomes a shared lifeline, not a boundary.
The Chaobai River Basin project comprehensively prioritizes sustainability and eco-compatibility.
This project has been recognized by the Boston Society of Landscape Architects with an Honor Award in Analysis and Planning.
The Chaobai River Basin Regeneration Initiative is a rural revitalization plan that synthesizes ecological rehabilitation, cultural heritage conservation, and economic development in a place of environmental degradation, cultural erosion, and rural economic stagnation.
Ecologically, the project implements nature-based solutions to restore degraded ecosystem functions. The replacement of concrete embankments with dynamic floodplain systems and the retrofit of 600 km of irrigation infrastructure reinstates natural hydrological processes while establishing vital wildlife corridors along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway.
Culturally, the initiative takes an innovative approach to heritage preservation through contemporary adaptation. The establishment of cultural programming, including the annual Harvest Festival and multiple cultural districts, aims to safeguard intangible cultural heritage, foster community engagement, and attract tourists from nearby metropolises.
Economically, the project pioneers a shift from conventional agricultural models to a diversified agroecological system. The implementation of integrated aquaculture-agriculture systems, including rice-fish polyculture and crab co-cultivation, would generate improvements in both ecological sustainability and local household income.
The participatory framework engages 28 communities through a 16-month design process. This inclusive approach has ensured technical robustness and social sustainability of the project.
Over 28 villages actively contributed to the proposal, while cross-sector partnerships with 5 key government agencies ensured policy alignment and resource coordination. We have received recognition and compliments from stakeholders and public agencies, including “a thoughtful and comprehensive planning proposal” from the planning department and “the visionary and pragmaticality of the project creates a beautiful balance highlighting the nature of the basin” from the agricultural committee.
At Sasaki, we believe defining the future of place must be a collective, contextual, and values-driven exercise. We all have a stake in this work.
For seventy years, Sasaki has brought together the best of architecture, interior design, planning and urban design, space planning, landscape architecture, and civil engineering to shape the places in which we live. Out of our Boston, Denver, New York City, Los Angeles, and Shanghai offices we are defining the contours of place and redefining what’s possible along the way. Today, we are a diverse practice of over 300 professionals who share a singular passion for creating authentic, equitable, and inspiring places.
