Horqin Rare Birds Nature Reserve

Horqin Rare Birds Nature Reserve

The Horqin Rare Birds Nature Reserve is located in the eastern part of Horqibannaoer Banner, stretching 40 kilometers from east to west and 45 kilometers from north to south, covering a total area of 120,000 hectares. In 1995, it was approved by the State Council as a national nature reserve. The reserve hosts seven species of Class I nationally protected rare birds, including the white stork, black stork, red-crowned crane, Siberian crane, white-naped crane, great bustard, and golden eagle, as well as 27 species of Class II protected rare birds. The area features a mosaic distribution of natural secondary elm forests, Siberian apricot shrub-steppe, and low-wetland meadow vegetation, creating a typical landscape of the Horqin Grassland. It boasts abundant flora and fauna, with over 450 plant species and more than 200 bird species. The reserve borders Tuquan County of Xing'an League to the north, neighbors the Xianghai National Nature Reserve in Jilin Province to the east, is bounded by the Huolin River to the south, and lies 27 kilometers west of Bayanhot Town, the seat of government of Horqin Right Wing Middle Banner. The Horqin Nature Reserve is a comprehensive national-level nature reserve aimed at protecting the Horqin Grassland, wetland ecosystems, and the rare bird species such as cranes and storks that inhabit the area. The reserve has largely preserved the fundamental structure of the Horqin Grassland ecosystem, forming three representative landscapes: wetland rare birds, natural elm forests, and the Horqin Grassland. Over centuries of geomorphological change, the Horqin Grassland has given rise to a striking scenic feature — the desert's "strange willows." Their unusual shapes have been formed through years of river erosion, seed mutation, along with human logging and grazing by livestock and wildlife, resulting in this rare phenomenon seen in few places around the world.