From barren to bird paradise

Located in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the Manas National Wetland Park is one of China's most important wetlands. Since 2011, the park has restored around 20,000 mu (about 1,333 hectares) of land through efforts to convert farmland and grazing land back into wetlands, along with afforestation initiatives. The park has become a bird paradise hosting 279 species, which make up over 60 percent of Xinjiang's total bird species.