# Zhalong National Nature Reserve

Location: Qiqihar, Heilongjiang province (Northeastern China)

Home to more than one fifth of the world's red-crowned cranes, Zhalong National Nature Reserve boasts the most complete, primitive and open wetland ecosystem in northern China. Covering an area of 210,000 hectares, it has the world's largest wetland habitat for reeds and was listed as a Wetland of International Importance in 1992. In addition to being a sanctuary for endangered cranes, the reserve plays an indispensable role in protecting the Songnen Plain ecosystem in northeastern China.