Guangdong Dongjiang National Wetland Park

Guangdong Dongjiang National Wetland Park

Guangdong Dongjiang National Wetland Park is a national-level wetland park.

Guangdong Dongjiang National Wetland Park is a proposed national wetland park in Dongyuan County, to be built along the Dongjiang River section from Dongyuan County town to Sujiawei Scenic Area in Yihetown.

The park is planned as a national wetland park that integrates wetland conservation, the display of wetland functions and culture, leisure activities, the Dongjiang Gallery wetland landscape, sustainable wetland use demonstration, as well as wetland research, monitoring, and education. It also serves functions such as power generation, irrigation, and flood control. The park is centered on the Dongjiang wetland ecosystem, characterized by the natural river landscape and the Hakka cultural scenery of Sujiawei, and enriched with abundant wetland culture.

The Dongjiang National Wetland Park boasts an outstanding ecological environment, with ancient flora and fauna origins and a wealth of rare species. Exotic flowers and plants are scattered across bays, sandbars, and islands, forming a treasure trove of biological resources and the foundation of tourism appeal. The Dongjiang riverbanks feature a complete and continuous riverside forest dominated by the sensitive plant (commonly known as “thorny tree”) and pink bamboo, which is rarely seen in other rivers in China. The swaying pink bamboo and the graceful form of the thorny trees create a beautiful green barrier along both banks of the Dongjiang, as well as an ecological corridor for wildlife migration.

The Dongjiang River is dotted with dozens of sandbars of various sizes and shapes, forming a spectacular group of sandbars. Lush green grass covers these formations, creating a unique wetland vegetation landscape of sandy islets. Being there offers delightful views of birds flying and chirping, making one feel refreshed and reluctant to leave. Visitors can sit and watch waterfowl drift with the waves, admire cattle grazing alongside egrets in the green fields, forming a picturesque rural scene—a natural harmony between humans, nature, and animals. The sandbars and their surrounding beaches provide excellent habitats for rare protected aquatic wildlife such as the Chinese softshell turtle. Surveys indicate that the Dongjiang Wetland Park is home to 356 species of higher vascular plants, with abundant aquatic vegetation forming diverse wetland vegetation types, including emergent plant communities, submerged plant communities, floating plant communities, and wet meadow communities. The park also has a rich diversity of wildlife, including 68 fish species, 137 species of wild terrestrial vertebrates—comprising 10 amphibian species, 22 reptile species, 85 bird species, and 20 mammal species. There are 2 plant species listed in the National Key Protected Wild Plants List, including 2 National II-level protected species such as wild rice. The park is home to 2 National I-level protected wildlife species, such as the Chinese softshell turtle and the python, and 10 National II-level protected wildlife species. There is also an ancient tree cluster consisting of dozens of century-old and notable trees.