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Handan Wastewater Cleansing Terraces

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Handan Wastewater Cleansing Terraces

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Handan Wastewater Cleansing Terraces

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Handan Wastewater Cleansing Terraces

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Handan Wastewater Cleansing Terraces

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Handan Wastewater Cleansing Terraces

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The Handan Wastewater Cleansing Terraces in China’s Hebei province are a set of tiered wetlands beneath a network of boardwalks and observation decks. More than just a striking vista, this site — the work of Beijing firm Turenscape — is an alternative to industrial filtration systems. As water flows along the terraces, it passes through three domains: wetlands with plant- based purifiers, underground channels lined with cleansing rock, and retention ponds that allow sediment to sink to the bottom. Nature? Infrastructure? The Cleansing Terraces are both, and they’re beautiful to look at too.

Team Kongjian Yu with Yakai Zheng, Shufen Wang, Wei Liu, Junyan Zheng, Qingfang Meng, Yong Liu, Yuxuan He, Tianzi Ruan, Hao Li, Rao Chen, Ang Lu and Jin Zhang