News

Scenery, flora and fauna make this spot a natural tourist draw

By Wang Qian (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-04-26 07:56

Yellow River Delta nature reserve in Dongying is home to 265 varieties of birds.

Every autumn, as the cold weather approaches, thousands of migratory birds make their way to the nature reserves on the Yellow River Delta to winter over, giving tourists from all over a lovely view of nature in all its splendor.

Dongying's 1,530-sq-km patch of wetlands is an important habitat and breeding ground for migratory birds from Northeast Asia and the western Pacific.

It is home to 1,524 types of wild animals, including 265 varieties of birds, some 50 of which are on the nation's protected list.

It is also China's largest delta nature reserve and has 393 types of plants, and 10,000-hectares of reed marsh, tamarisk forest, locust trees, red iodine weeds and grassland.

The scenery makes the city a popular tourist draw, bringing it 6.36 million visitors last year and 4.3 billion yuan in revenues, a 27-percent increase year-on-year. This year it is expected to attract over 7 million tourists, and 5.4 billion yuan in profits.

The local government has environmental protection on its mind and is trying to develop the area in an eco-friendly way. It has allocated 1.5 billion yuan to design a waterway that links the city's main rivers and scenic spots.

Bird watching pavilions, wetland parks, and pleasure boat rides are being added to the natural reserve for the benefit of visitors.

It is building eco-agricultural demonstration areas for fisheries, vegetables, and fresh flowers to provide leisure activities for tourists.

There is even a petroleum-themed scenic spot at the Shengli Oilfield, China's second largest petroleum industry base, with a petroleum museum and culture town.

The city now has one national 4A, seven 3A, and more than 20 2A class tourist attractions, as well as 130 souvenir manufacturers.

It is planning five provincial-level marine tourism spots and holiday resorts and a hot spring resort, which will have a golf course spa center, hotel, and specialty restaurant.

It also holds cultural activities and festivals annually, including an international marathon, seafood festival and Yellow River Delta cultural expo.

(China Daily 04/26/2011 page24)