Nandagang Wetland

Opening Hours: Mainly open in spring and summer Ticket Price: 20 yuan Location: Northeastern part of Cangzhou City, Hebei Province Best Time to Visit: Cangzhou is located on the Bohai Bay in southeastern Hebei. It features a typical warm temperate semi-humid continental monsoon climate with cold winters, hot summers and four distinct seasons. The annual average temperature is about 12℃, and autumn is the best time for a visit. Complaint Hotline: 0317-2080122

Transportation Guide (Self-driving): Drive east along Nanpaihe Road via National Highway 205, then turn north and pass the headquarters of Nandagang Farm.

Cangzhou lies on the coastal plain crisscrossed by numerous rivers. More than 20 rivers converge and empty into the sea at nine outlets. The total water storage capacity of watercourses, reservoirs, lakes, ponds and irrigation canals reaches 480 million cubic meters. The region boasts a great number of low-lying wetlands, among which Nandagang Wetland stands out as the most renowned.

Nandagang Reservoir, built in 1972, is situated northeast of the Nandagang Farm headquarters. Lying at the head of Bohai Bay, it is a typical coastal wetland and designated as a Hebei Provincial Nature Reserve. It also serves as a field training and research base for undergraduates and postgraduates of the School of Geography, Hebei Normal University.

The wetland has an altitude ranging from 2.9 meters at the lowest point to 5.4 meters at the highest. Its landforms include lagoon depressions, shallow trough depressions, mounds and flat highlands. Reeds account for 90% of the local vegetation. A 30-kilometer-long shelterbelt with a width of 10 meters encircles the wetland, consisting of over 60,000 trees.

This area is an intersection of the north-south and east-west migration routes for migratory birds. So far, 168 bird species have been recorded here. It is home to national first-class protected birds such as red-crowned crane, white crane, hooded crane, white stork, Chinese merganser and great bustard. Large flocks of whooper swans come here to inhabit every year.

To protect the reed marshes, fish, birds and wild animals along the banks, a circular water channel (6 meters wide and 4 meters deep) has been dug around the reservoir for seasonal water storage and water level regulation. The vast wetland presents a lush green landscape in midsummer with fresh air, bringing visitors great joy and relaxation.

The wetland borders the west coast of Bohai Bay, where you can see one of the world's three major ancient shell ridges. The other two are located in Louisiana of the United States and Chile on the east coast of the Pacific Ocean. Boasting extraordinary scale, long formation history and abundant information on ancient geological environments, this shell ridge plays a vital role in international Quaternary geological research.

Passing by the wetland, you will come across the Fudicheng Ruins north of Huanghua City, a Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit of Hebei Province