Awancang Wetland Viewing Area 阿万仓湿地正规开放观景区

About Awancang Wetland Viewing Area

The wetland lies in Maqu county, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu, in the first-bend country of the Yellow River, which the prefecture government's page describes as an endless green carpet of grassland with tributaries winding through it like ribbons; the same page records that the Gongqu river runs 23 km and joins the Yellow River from within Awancang. Xinhua's Gansu channel describes the wetland as a natural oxygen bar with rivers interwoven and lush water plants, calls it a habitat of many rare birds, and says that a viewing platform on the wetland gives an unbroken view of it.

The wider setting is the Maqu wetland, which Xinhua records in figures that belong to the county and not to Awancang alone: Maqu means “Yellow River” in Tibetan, the county is an important water-conservation and recharge area of the upper Yellow River, and the Maqu stretch of the river adds water equal to 58.7% of the runoff of the Yellow River source region. The page puts the Maqu wetland at 562万亩, calls it a natural barrier for ecological security in the Yellow River basin and “the kidney of the Yellow River”, and records lake-and-wetland protection, grassland protection and restoration and flood-control works among the ecological projects carried out locally, with the ecological condition of the Maqu stretch improving markedly. The prefecture government's page says nearly ten thousand migratory birds live and breed in the Maqu wetland each year.

What to look for

• The viewing platform on the wetland, from which Xinhua's Gansu channel says the wetland can be seen unbroken
• The interwoven rivers and the wet grassland that the same page describes
• The Gongqu river, which the prefecture government's page records as running 23 km and joining the Yellow River from within Awancang
• The autumn colour of the wetland, photographed from the air by Xinhua on 21 September 2022
• The migratory birds that the prefecture government's page says come to the Maqu wetland in their thousands each year

Location & getting there

Getting to Awancang Wetland Viewing Area

Check the open visitor route and follow the site’s rules on distance, food and photography. Conservation areas may limit access beyond designated paths.

• Search for 阿万仓湿地正规开放观景区 with 甘南藏族自治州 and 玛曲县.