Rizhao Liangcheng Estuary Wetland Park

Rizhao Liangcheng Estuary Wetland Park

Rizhao Liangcheng Estuary Wetland Park is a national wetland park.

Rizhao Liangcheng Estuary Wetland Park is located in the Shanhaitian Tourist Resort. On December 31, 2015, it was approved by the National Forestry Administration as a 2015 National Wetland Park Pilot Site, making it the only such pilot site in Shanhaitian to date.

Its planned area mainly covers the nearshore waters from the Liangcheng Estuary to the Baima Estuary. It stretches west from the Liangcheng River Bridge on Beihai Road, east to the -6 meter isobath of the Yellow Sea nearshore waters, south to the Rizhao Coastal National Forest Park, north to the Baima Estuary, and all the way to the maritime boundary between Rizhao and Qingdao. The total planned area is 1,245.67 hectares.

The wetland area within the planned zone of Rizhao Liangcheng Estuary Wetland Park is 1,220.75 hectares, accounting for a wetland ratio of 97.99%. It is primarily a coastal wetland type, encompassing permanent rivers, estuarine waters, sandy beaches, and shallow sea areas.

The area is home to 231 species of higher plants from 147 genera and 70 families. Among them, there is 1 nationally protected plant (Class II), the wild soybean; and 2 “rare and endangered” plants under Shandong Province protection, namely Platycodon grandiflorus and Forsythia suspensa.

The region boasts abundant wildlife resources, with 464 species across 178 families and 61 orders found within the planned area. It is also a paradise for various bird species, including red-crowned cranes, whooper swans, mandarin ducks, northern goshawks, common kestrels, and short-eared owls... Against the blue skies and clear waters, flocks of gulls gather. They can be seen preening, playing affectionately, or skimming low over the water, perfectly blending into the landscape.

The area has a profound cultural heritage and was a thriving center of Longshan Culture. The Liangcheng Site showcases the legendary grandeur of Asia’s largest city from four to five thousand years ago. The thousand-year-old black pottery ding vessels are simple and elegant, each crafted as an artwork inspired by the movements of birds in nature—vivid and lifelike. The rich cultural and historical resources have made this site an international and domestic base for archaeological research.

Following the principles of “protection first, scientific restoration, rational use, and sustainable development,” and based on the distribution of wetland resources and management needs, the planned wetland park area is divided into an ecological conservation zone, a restoration and reconstruction zone, a science education and publicity zone, a rational use zone, and a management and service zone.