Chinese Int'l Wetland Cities from Space

Twenty-five cities from 13 countries, notably seven from China, were accredited by the Ramsar Convention as international wetland cities this November. The seven newly certified Chinese cities are Hefei of Anhui Province, Jining of Shandong Province, Liangping of Chongqing Municipality, Nanchang of Jiangxi Province, Panjin of Liaoning Province, Wuhan of Hubei Province and Yancheng of Jiangsu Province.

On the list of all the 43 international wetland cities worldwide are 13 Chinese cities, making China a country with most such cities. The other six Chinese cities that have shared the title since 2018 are Harbin of Heilongjiang Province, Haikou of Hainan Province, Yinchuan of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Changde of Hunan Province, Changshu of Jiangsu Province and Dongying of Shandong Province.

The following satellite images are presented by the scientists from the China Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station (RSGS) with the Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Among the 13 satellite images, some are synthesized by R(4)G(3)B(2) false color to highlight the wetlands clearly.

Hefei of the eastern Anhui Province has five national wetland parks and three provincial wetland parks, with a wetland protection rate of 75 percent, the highest within the province.

Image by GF-1, Bands: R(4)G(3)B(2) (Image credit: AIR)

Jining of east China's coastal Shandong Province has 32 wetland towns, 56 wetland villages and 124 micro-wetlands.

Image by GF-1, Bands: R(3)G(2)B(1) (Image credit: AIR)

Liangping of Chongqing Municipality is the only wetland city in southwestern China, with more than 400 model micro-wetlands featuring organic industries, local guesthouses and ecological tourism.

Image by GF-1, bands: R(3)G(2)B(1) (Image Credit: AIR)

Nanchang of east China's Jiangxi Province has two wetlands of international importance, eight national wetland parks, four wetlands of provincial importance and five provincial wetland parks.

Image by GF-1 Bands: R(3)G(2)B(1) (Image Credit: AIR)

Panjin, located at the mouth of the Liaohe River in the northeastern Liaoning Province, is an important transit location and destination for migratory birds of the East Asian-Australasia flyway, as well as a breeding ground for the largest population of saunders's gulls in the world.

Image by GF-1, Bands: R(3)G(2)B(1) (Image credit: AIR)

Wuhan of Hubei Province is a megacity with the most abundant wetland resources in inland China, and also a typical example of lake-type wetlands at the same latitude worldwide as well as the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Image by GF-1, Bands: R(3)G(2)B(1) (Image credit: AIR)

Yancheng of east China's Jiangsu Province has two wetlands of international importance as well as China's first World Natural Heritage site of coastal wetlands.

Image by GF-1, Bands:R(3)G(2)B(1) (Image credit: AIR)

Northeast China's Harbin boasts 198,700 hectares of wetlands, including one of international importance and 13 national wetland parks.

Image by GF-1, Bands: R(4)G(3)B(2) (Image credit: AIR)

Haikou, capital city of tropical Hainan province, has been called a "water city" since ancient times. With a wetland area of 29,093 hectares and a wetland rate of 12.7 percent, it boasts abundant wetland resources with a big diversity.

Image by GF-6, Bands: R(4)G(3)B(2) (Image credit: AIR)

Yinchuan in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region is the only city in western China to earn the recognition of "International wetland city". Yinchuan's urban wetland rate is at 10.65 percent and its wetland protection area accounted for 78.5 percent. Altogether, Yinchuan has six national wetland parks and 200 natural lakes. The city is also home to important migration routes and breeding grounds for migratory birds.

Image by GF-1, Bands: R(3)G(2)B(1) (Image credit: AIR)

Accredited by the Ramsar Convention as an international wetland city in 2018, Changde of Hunan Province boasts a total area of 190,890 hectares of wetlands.

Image by GF-1, Bands: R(4)G(3)B(2) (Image credit: AIR)

An "international wetland city" from the Ramsar Convention, Changshu of Jiangsu Province boasts a total area of 29,921.61 hectares of wetlands.

Image by GF-1, Bands: R(3)G(2)B(1) (Image credit: AIR)

Dongying in east China's Shandong Province was certified as an international wetland city in 2018.

Image by GF-6, Bands: R(4)G(3)B(2) (Image credit: AIR)