A photo captures a herd of reindeers in a barn at Genheyuan National Wetland Park in Genhe, Hunlunbuir, a city in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region on March 16. [Photo/northnews.cn]

According to local authorities, 33 reindeers arrived from the Netherlands at Genheyuan National Wetland Park in Genhe, Hulunbuir, a city in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region on March 16.

The animals will then be quarantined for 45 days, before being bred at a special breeding center.  

By importing the reindeer, local authorities hope to start a number of various reindeer-based industries, raising living standards and increasing job opportunities for local residents.

Genhe has already introduced 178 of the animals from the Netherlands over the past three years.

By consulting experts in the field, it is hoped that Genhe will be able to get a large-scale breeding program up and running, as well as establish a veterinary hospital to treat the animals.

In addition, local authorities plan to explore the options for using reindeer as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

Already, Genhe has reached a preliminary agreement with Tongrentang, a Beijing TCM manufacturer, to explore what products it could potentially develop using reindeer bred in Genhe.