The Dunhuang West Lake Wetland in Northwest China's Gansu province [Photo/ gansudaily.com.cn]

In 2022, Dunhuang West Lake Wetland was designated as one of 2022's Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration announced Thursday on the occasion of the 27th World Wetlands Day.

Dunhuang West Lake Wetland, adjacent to the Kumtag Desert and Lop Nur in Northwest China, is a rare example of a wetland in an extremely arid desert area.

The low-lying site preserves more than 30,000 hectares of shrubs and herbaceous swamps.

Sun Zhicheng, chief engineer of the management and protection center of the Dunhuang West Lake National Nature Reserve in Gansu province, said that the local ecology has been restored, with the completion of a river dredging project in 2017. Two lakes that ran dry a long time ago have since been restored.

In recent years, the number of the largest group of wild camels has increased to 50. Remote video surveillance facilities also regularly detect herds of goitered gazelles and migratory birds roosting here.

The Dunhuang West Lake National Nature Reserve has become the first ecological barrier in western Gansu, and plays a role in preventing the spread of the Kumtag Desert, maintaining regional biodiversity, regulating the regional microclimate, and ensuring the security of the Dunhuang Oasis.