Situated at the mouth of the Yellow River in East China's Shandong province, Dongying is dedicated to advancing its transformation into a high-level modern metropolis while simultaneously enhancing its ecological environment.
The migratory bird habitat at the mouth of the Yellow River, known as the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve, has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. However, when the reserve was established in 1992, it was home to just under 187 bird species.
The reserve has undertaken projects such as river channel dredging and flow route regulation to enhance the environmental conditions and support wetland restoration. Dongying has invested 65 million yuan ($9.07 million) to construct or renovate six sluices, increasing the reserve's water intake capacity from 40 cubic meters per second to 131 cubic meters per second. Additionally, Dongying has implemented a water network connectivity project, which has reduced the time required to replenish 13,333 hectares of wetland in the reserve from nine days to four days.
Additionally, the number of bird species has risen to 373, with populations of 38 water bird species now exceeding 1 percent of their global total.
The Yellow River Delta wetland is restored to a healthy state following effective management. [Photo/Dongying News Website]
Dongying has 227,866 hectares of saline land. In recent years, the city has developed and utilized this resource by cultivating salt-tolerant crops, leading to the gradual transformation of the Yellow River Delta into a new granary. In 2023, the city's grain yield per unit area increased by 14.98 kilograms compared to the previous year, representing a 3.9 percent rise and the highest growth rate in the province.
Dongying, referred to as the "oil city" due to its abundant oil and gas resources, has in recent years accelerated the development and utilization of clean energy sources, including solar, wind, hydrogen, geothermal, and biomass energy.
As of the end of May 2024, Dongying's installed capacity of renewable energy reached 6.8 million kilowatts, accounting for 55.67 percent of the city's total installed capacity. Its cumulative renewable energy power generation amounted to 5.1 billion kilowatt-hours, representing 36.84 percent of the city's total power generation.
As barren lands have been transformed into clear waters and green shores, and saline fields into fertile grain-producing areas, Dongying, once a traditional industrial city, is now writing a new chapter in its transformative journey.
