Qixinghe Nature Reserve

Qixinghe Nature Reserve

Qixinghe Nature Reserve is a national-level nature reserve.

Baoqing Qixinghe National Nature Reserve is situated in the heart of the Sanjiang Plain in Heilongjiang Province, approximately 40 km north of Baoqing County along the middle and lower reaches of the Qixinghe River, bordering Fujin, Youyi County, and the Wujiuqi Farm. Established in 1991, the Baoqing County People’s Government designated it as a county-level nature reserve, naming it the Qixinghe Reed Nature Reserve. As the reserve developed, in 1996 the Shuangyashan Municipal People’s Government approved its promotion from a county-level to a city-level reserve and the county party committee and government formed the “Qixinghe Reed Nature Reserve Management Committee,” beginning work on the “Comprehensive Survey Report of Qixinghe Nature Reserve.” In 1998, with approval from the Heilongjiang Provincial People’s Government, it was elevated to a provincial-level nature reserve, named the Heilongjiang Qixinghe Wetland Nature Reserve. In April 2000, it was approved as a national-level nature reserve, named the Heilongjiang Baoqing Qixinghe National Nature Reserve. In 2008, it was awarded the title of “National Wetland Protection and Restoration Demonstration Unit” by the State Forestry Administration.

Baoqing Qixinghe National Nature Reserve is located in Baoqing County, Shuangyashan City, Heilongjiang Province, about 40 km north of the county seat along the middle and lower reaches of the Qixinghe River, 51 km from Shuangyashan City, and 420 km from Harbin. The reserve borders Youyi and Fujin Counties to the north, the Wujiuqi Farm to the east, Baoqing County’s Qixing Township to the west, and Baoqing County’s Qixinghe Township to the south. It stretches 30 km from east to west and 10 km from north to south along the southern bank of the Qixinghe River, covering a total area of 20,800 hectares.

Within the reserve, typical wetland ecological landscapes of the Sanjiang Plain have formed, dominated by reeds and marshes, along with meadows, wet meadows, shallow and deep water marshes, and water bodies—making it one of the most complete and well-preserved original wetlands of its kind, serving as a microcosm of the original Sanjiang Plain landscape. The Qixinghe River originates from the northern slope of the Wandashan Mountains and lies within an inland low-lying terrain, where rivers and marshes crisscross. This geographical setting has created extensive water storage areas with a capacity of over ten million cubic meters, playing a crucial role in regulating Qixinghe River water levels, maintaining groundwater levels, moderating local climate, preserving regional ecological balance, and promoting positive ecological development.

Plant Resources: The Qixinghe National Nature Reserve belongs to the Changbai plant system. However, due to the influence and integration of other flora systems, a complex overlapping of multi-system plant species has occurred. Although the number of plant species is not large, the floristic composition is quite diverse, enriching the region's phytogeographical elements and giving it unique characteristics. The reserve hosts 386 species of vascular plants from 174 genera and 62 families, accounting for 21.44% of Heilongjiang’s total plant species and 40% of those in the Sanjiang Plain. Among them, there are 21 medicinal plants such as wild ginger, polygonum, horsetail, buttercup, and pulsatilla; 15 forage plants including small reed canary grass, rush, and scirpus; 6 starch plants such as arrowhead, lily species, and bistort; and over ten ornamental plants such as iris, lythrum, cattail, and some lily species. Additionally, there are edible plants like daylily, goosefoot, and fiddlehead fern; nectar plants such as meadowsweet, bogbean, and lythrum; aromatic plants like cattail, mugwort, and valerian; oil plants including pennycress, water avens, and bistort; and pesticide plants such as purslane, pulsatilla, and Clematis hexapetala. The plant resources in this area are extremely rich, especially reeds which cover 14,000 hectares—70% of the total reserve area. Rare and endangered species include wild soybean.

Animal Resources: The Qixinghe National Nature Reserve falls within the Palearctic realm, Northeast China region, and Changbai Mountain subregion. The animal species are mainly temperate-dwelling types. The reserve is home to 163 species of vertebrates across 5 classes, 10 orders, 107 genera, representing 3.17% of China’s total animal species, 29.42% of Heilongjiang’s, and 35.86% of the Sanjiang Plain’s. There are 15 fish species, dominated by cyprinids; 6 amphibian species, with the Heilongjiang brown frog being dominant; 2 reptile species; and a rich variety of birds, particularly waterfowl, whose composition changes significantly with the seasons—being richest in spring and autumn, relatively sparse in summer, and simplest in winter. The reserve hosts 123 bird species, accounting for 35.9% of the province’s total, including 43 passerine species (35% of the bird total) and 80 non-passerine species (65%), among which 60 are waterfowl (75% of non-passerines), with dominant species such as mallard, green-winged teal, common pochard, and common goldeneye. There are 17 mammal species from 5 orders and 8 families, with the highest numbers in the carnivora and rodentia orders.

Landscape Resources: Qixinghe Nature Reserve is one of the few remaining representative tracts of pristine natural wetland in the Sanjiang Plain after over forty years of agricultural development. Its main ecosystem is freshwater marsh, with rivers, lakes, and ponds spread throughout the area. Influenced by terrain and water distribution, and through biogeological evolution, it has formed various micro-landscape units such as meadows, wet meadows, marshes, and water bodies, each demonstrating unique ecological succession processes. The diversity of these landscape units not only provides the area with beautiful and ever-changing natural scenery but also offers authentic sites for scientific research, education, and public awareness of ecological conservation.