China's most beautiful wetlands

[File photo]

Wetlands are vital to human life, as they host a huge variety of life, protect coastlines and provide natural sponges against river flooding and store carbon dioxide to regulate climate change.

But such important and beautiful lungs of the planet are disappearing every year due to human activities. More than 64 percent of the world's wetlands have vanished since 1900 and China too is seeing its wetlands evaporating.

For example, in the past 50 years, the northern province of Hebei has lost 90 percent of its wetlands. In Shaanxi province the 30 counties that make up the Guanzhong area have seen up to 10,000 ponds disappear, says chinadialogue.net.

With World Wetlands Day being marked on Feb 2, we have selected China's most beautiful areas. Let's discover their beauty and say no to pollution and exploitation of the earth's lungs while we still can.

Erguna Wetland

The area lies at the northwest side of the Greater Khingan Mountains in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region. It is known as the No.1 wetland in Asia.