Pingtan wetlands: heaven for birds

A group of egrets forage in the Zhuyuhu Wetland Park in Pingtan, Fujian province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Wide coverage of wetlands makes Pingtan, an island city located off the coast of Fujian province, a paradise for birds, local media reported on the World Wetland Day (WWD), which falls on Feb 2 annually.

Established to raise awareness about the value of wetlands for humanity and the planet, WWD was celebrated for the first time in 1997 and has grown remarkably since then.

According to official statistics, wetlands in Pingtan cover about 38,612 hectares, including two artificial ones, Zhuyuhu Wetland Park and the Thirty-six Feet Lake.

Thanks to its long winding coastline and abundant wetland resources, Pingtan is a perfect habitat for migratory birds to rest or forage over the winter-to-spring period, said Nie Sen, deputy director of the Pingtan bureau of forestry.

According to him, roughly 128 species of birds, including some endangered ones like black-faced spoonbill, have been spotted in the city to date, accounting for 23.4 percent of the provincial total.

The two artificial wetlands are the two major ones in Pingtan.

Zhuyuhu Park, a wetland in the center of the city, encapsulates the island city's unspoiled ecological environment.

Covering an area of 6,196 mu (413 hectares), the park is the largest in Pingtan. It encompasses a 3,298-mu lake, Zhuyu Lake, and is home to thousands of egrets.

Meanwhile, the Thirty-Six Feet Lake was listed as a provincial-level wetland in April last year. As the largest natural freshwater lake in the province, Thirty-Six Feet Lake used to be the only source of fresh water for the 300,000 residents in Pingtan.