Liannan Yao terraced fields National Wetland Park

Liannan Yao terraced fields National Wetland Park

The Liannan Yao terraced fields National Wetland Park is a national-level wetland park.

The Liannan Yao terraced fields are located in Daping Town, Liannan Yao Autonomous County. Situated within the Nanling region—one of China’s 35 priority areas for biodiversity conservation as designated in the national ecological functional zoning—the area is also recognized as a provincial-level key ecological functional zone, part of the northern ring-shaped ecological barrier, and a mountainous eco-agricultural zone under Guangdong Province’s main functional zoning plan, making it of extremely high ecological importance. The planned total area of this wetland park is comprehensively determined to be 354.69 hectares, including 156.98 hectares of wetland, encompassing various types such as riverine wetlands, marsh wetlands, and artificial wetlands.

Within the planned scope of the wetland park, there are over 500 levels of terraced fields spanning more than 2,000 mu, making them the most representative, concentrated, and extensive terraced field wetlands in Liannan and even the Nanling area. The area features a composite ecosystem of forests, reservoirs, rivers, and terraced fields, rich in both flora and fauna. The water system maintains good quality, generally meeting Class I water standards, and ultimately flows into the Xijiang River and the Pearl River Delta, serving as an ecological protection barrier for the upper reaches of the Xijiang River.

The area contains six vegetation types, seven vegetation formations, and twelve vegetation communities, including 364 species of wild vascular plants from 277 genera and 115 families. Wetland vegetation is divided into three major categories: shrub, grassland, and shallow-water plant wetland vegetation, comprising 94 species of wetland plants such as rice, rush, and sedge.

According to surveys and records, the Liannan Yao terraced fields National Wetland Park is home to 116 bird species from 35 families across 14 orders, including nine nationally protected Class II bird species such as the black kite and the crested goshawk. Wetland wading birds include egrets, cattle egrets, and white-breasted waterhens. There are also 24 mammal species from 15 families across six orders, 19 reptile species from nine families across three orders, 14 amphibian species from seven families across two orders, and seven fish species from five families across three orders.

The Liannan Yao terraced fields National Wetland Park plays a significant role in protecting the terraced field composite wetland ecosystem, preserving the distinctive folk culture and terraced field farming heritage of the Liannan Yao people, leveraging the ecological and economic benefits of the terraced field wetlands, and advancing the ecological civilization development of both Liannan and Guangdong Province.