National Ordos Relict Gull Nature Reserve [Photo/ordosly.gov.cn]

The National Ordos Relict Gull Nature Reserve stretches across Dongsheng district and Ejin Horoo Banner in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia autonomous region. 

Established in 1998, the reserve was approved by the State Council to be a national-level nature reserve. Designed to protect the wetlands and relict gulls, a national-A level protected bird, the reserve covers an area of 14,770 hectares. 

This year, a water supplementation project intended to restore the ecological environment of the area, which has seen a sharp decline in its relict gull population since 2003 due to diminishing water supplies, has been completed. The project has led to the wetland area increasing in size. 

As many as 20,000 gulls can now be seen in the area during migration periods. On average, around 400 are believed to be relict gulls.