Shandong province has been promoting the construction of the Yellow River Estuary National Park in Dongying.

According to a news conference held on Nov 30 by the Information Office of Shandong Provincial People's Government, the preparatory work for the park has been completed and the province will now accelerate the implementation of the project.

In the next step, Shandong will study and put forward a plan for the establishment of management institutions for the national park.

Flocks of migratory birds gather at the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve in Dongying, Shandong province, in November. [Photo by Zhou Guangxue/for China Daily]

National parks refer to special land or sea areas put under protection to conserve the ecosystem and achieve sound utilization of their natural resources.

The national parks are not only home to the most important and the unique natural geological landscapes and essential natural heritage, but also the foundation for China's efforts at biological diversity conservation.

As the estuary of the Yellow River, the mother river of the Chinese nation, the Yellow River Estuary in Dongying is a typical representative of estuarine wetlands in the world, and also a "natural recorder" of the formation, development and evolution of estuarine wetland ecosystems, which maintains the authenticity, integrity and typicality of estuarine wetland ecosystems.

The area has been included in the list of international important wetlands. Dongying has been named one of the first international wetland cities.

Shandong has integrated and optimized eight natural reserves in the Yellow River Delta region, including the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve, the Yellow River Delta National Geopark, the Yellow River Estuary National Forest Park and the Yellow River Estuary Ecological National Marine Special Reserve to build the Yellow River Estuary National Park which spans 352,300 hectares.

The national park in located in the Hekou and Kenli districts of Dongying.

The Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve in Shandong province has become an attractive home for migratory birds. [Photo by Yang Bin/For chinadaily.com.cn]