Ergune National Wetland Park: must-visit destination in Inner Mongolia
An aerial view of the beautiful Ergune National Wetland Park in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
When mentioning travel in Inner Mongolia, the images that come to people's minds are those of expansive grasslands. But in addition to grasslands such as Hulunbuir Grassland and the Xiliin Gol Grassland, it also has wetlands, mountains, rivers, and forests.
Ergune National Wetland Park boasts a variety of landscapes.
The park is located in the northwestern foothills of the Greater Hinggan Mountains, 23 kilometers away from the center of Ergune city, and covers an area of 12,072 hectares.
It is located in the northern cold temperate zone and includes river wetlands, marsh wetlands, herbaceous swamps, forest swamps, shrub swamps, and swamp meadows, breeding abundant wildlife resources.
The Genhe River flows throughout the vast grassland of Ergune National Wetland Park in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
It is also a part of the East Asia-Australia bird migration route. The numbers of great bustards and cygnets migrating from there or stopping there each year account for 17 percent and 19 percent of the world's total, respectively.
The park has five main attractions: ancient poplar clusters, the wetland sunrise, a transition zone from Greater Hinggan Mountains forests to Hulunbuir grassland, peony flowers, and white birch forest.
Its Bird Island is a great place for bird watching. Tourists will pass through large tracts of primitive birch forests on their way to the top of Handagai Mountain, where they can overlook the entire landscape of the park. Wetlands, grasslands, and forests all meet there.
Visitors can also admire the first waterfall in the Greater Hinggan Mountains region and go rafting in the waters of Genhe River.