The Yellow River runs along the northern edge of Jinan, separated from the city by dykes, and the wetland zone between the dykes and the city has been developed into a park with boardwalks, birdwatching platforms, and stretches of preserved reed bed and riparian forest. The river itself, running brown with silt, is visible from the northern embankment — a reminder that the Yellow River still sits above the surrounding plain on a levee built up over centuries of flood management.
The park is most rewarding in spring and autumn when migratory birds stop over, and it provides a genuine contrast to the spring parks in the city center — wider, wilder, and with the immense flat landscape of the North China Plain opening out in every direction. Cycling is a good option here; the embankment path runs for several kilometres along the river.