The Fujian Minjiang River Estuary Wetlands are located in the Changle district of Fujian Province, near the Changle Mussel Resources Proliferation Reserve. The Site is also a National Nature Reserve, protecting 28 threatened species and over 50,000 resident and wintering birds annually from 219 species, including spoon-billed sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea) and Chinese crested-tern (Thalasseus bernsteini). It is dominated by intertidal mudflats formed from the alluvial deposits of the Minjiang River and shallow marine waters of the East China Sea. The critically endangered Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) migrates through the Site, while other economically important fish are farmed in aquaculture ponds. The Site lies in a typhoon-prone area, facing around five typhoons every year. The coastal part of the Site has mangrove forests which help in minimizing the impact from these typhoons, stabilizing the shoreline and protecting the rare and threatened species. In recent years, wetland management measures have been implemented, such as long-term control of the invasive smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) and cleaning of floating garbage.

Changle District, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province