[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The confluence of the Yellow River and the Bohai Sea nourishes the rich and expansive Yellow River Delta. With the development of the delta, a new modern oil city, Dongying of Shandong province, has risen at the mouth of the Yellow River and the shore of the Bohai Sea.

With its east and north boundaries on the Bohai Sea, the north lying next to the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan economic zone, and its east and south edges bordering the Jiaodong peninsula economic zone while its west radiates to the vast inland areas, Dongying enjoys a favorable location and is an important intersection of the Bohai Sea Rim economic zone and the cities cluster of the Shandong peninsula.

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 Pacifi c. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Yellow River Delta possesses rich resources and a unique ecological system. It is a magic land. 

It was not only the hometown of Sunwu, the great military strategist during the Spring-Autumn Period, and Shandong province's Lv opera, but is also the location of the Shengli Oilfield, the second largest oil base in China. Here also lie a national natural protection zone and a magical wetland system.

Dongying is known as an immigrant city and possesses multiply cultures. The Yellow River Delta witnessed three big immigration processes in the early Ming dynasty, the Republic of China and after liberation. 

As a result, the interaction and combination of different ideologies and cultures lead to a tolerant, harmonious and opening culture of the Yellow River Delta which features the deep-rooted culture of ancient State of Qi, the hardworking spirit of oilfield workers, an open and harmonious immigration culture, and a unique ecological culture.

[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The confluence of the Yellow River and the Bohai Sea year after year gave birth to the youngest land of the country—the vast Yellow River Delta. The national Yellow River Delta natural reserve is a geological park approved by the State Council.

It has the most integrated, vastest and youngest wetland ecology system in a warm-temperate zone in a total area of 1530 square kilometers. The zone's main aim is to protect the newly-born wetland system, including its rare and extinct birds; it is an important transfer station for birds' migration, inhabitation and reproduction in northeastern Asia and the west Pacific area. 

With its flourishing vegetation and vital animal hunting grounds, the reserve has maintained the distinctive qualities of the original ecology and is very primitive and unique. 

It boasts abundant wildlife resources which include 393 species of plants and 1543 species of wild animals, some of which are very rare. In addition, it also has vast grassland. Its unique geographical location and natural conditions make the reserve one of the six most beautiful wetlands in the country.

Wind power facilities dot the rural landscape in Dongying. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]