Yellow River Delta

The Yellow River carries an enormous sediment load and deposits it here, building the delta seaward by tens of square kilometres in some years and shifting the coastline continuously, making this the youngest large landmass in China. The national nature reserve covers around fifteen hundred square kilometres of wetland, reed bed and tidal flat, and it is important for migratory birds on the East Asian flyway, with oriental storks, red-crowned cranes and hundreds of other species recorded. As at Panjin, Suaeda seepweed turns the flats crimson in autumn. The point where the yellow river water meets the blue sea produces a visible colour line offshore, seen on boat trips or from the air.

History

The Yellow River moved to its present course into the Bohai Sea in 1855, and since then its mouth has shifted some 50 times, reaching its present position in 1976. People began settling the new delta in 1898 and farming it heavily from 1934; a municipal nature reserve was set up in December 1990, became a provincial reserve in November 1991, and was made a national nature reserve in October 1992 (Wikipedia, Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve).

What you'll find

• The red seepweed - flats turning crimson in autumn.
• The colour line - yellow river water meeting blue sea offshore.
• The bird concentrations - storks, cranes and migratory waterbirds.
• The reed beds - vast phragmites across the delta.

When to go

October to November for the red marsh and autumn migration, April to May for spring passage; summer is hot and mosquito-heavy. The sea colour line is clearest when the river runs high after the summer flood release.

Good to know

Access is by boardwalk and road within the reserve, with much of it closed. Boat trips to the colour line are weather-dependent and irregular. Dongying is an oil city with limited tourist infrastructure.

Nearby

Dongying lies southwest; the Bohai coast runs east.