Clouds are reflected on the water in Heilongjiang Hadong Yanjiang Wetland. [Photo/MY399.COM]

Heilongjiang Hadong Yanjiang Wetland in Harbin -- capital city of China’s northernmost Heilongjiang province -- has been recognized as a Wetland of International Importance, among seven newly-added wetlands in China in 2020, according to information released by the Harbin forestry and grassland bureau.

A Wetland of International Importance is identified by the Ramsar Convention that entered into force on December 21, 1975, as referring to those wetlands with unique international significance in terms of ecology, botany, zoology, limnology or hydrology.

The newly recognized Heilongjiang Hadong Yanjiang Wetland has the general form of a long narrow strip, with an east-west length of 23.5 kilometers and a width of 5.5 km at the widest point in the north and south. The total area of the wetland is 9,973 hectares, with a wetland rate of 79.6 percent.

It belongs to a typical inland wetland ecosystem, with river wetlands, swamp wetlands and swampy meadows as the main wetland types.

Experts say it plays an important role in purifying water quality, conserving water sources, regulating climate, regulating floods, maintaining regional ecological balance and ecological security.

The wetland is also in the east Asia-Australia migration area, being an especially important stop and breeding place for migratory waterbirds in Northeast Asia.

Every year during the spring and autumn migration seasons, a large number of waterbirds stop there. The number of migratory birds exceeds 20,000, including the endangered rare birds such as oriental white storks and red-crowned cranes.