Migratory Bird Sanctuaries China

This is my second non-visit review within a few months. I really hope this is not becoming a regular thing. I tried to visit the Chongming Dongtan Bird Habitat. Strictly looking at the map, this is by far the easiest place to visit, as it is very close to Shanghai.

I took a taxi from the center and left Shanghai at lunch time. The DiDi app predicted 1h50min to get there, which is 30min longer than Google Maps (with no access to any traffic information, because technically banned) told me, when I planned this at home. The price was predicted with around 40 EUR per way, which is not too bad for 2 hours driving. There are also no other options than taxi, so it’s that or you know someone who can drive you there.

Traffic was actually no issue within Shanghai, just the millions of traffic lights slow you down a bit. The real problem is following: there is only one connection between the mainland and Chongming island. And worst of all, it’s a toll way. About 5km from probably the toll booth, there was a crazy traffic jam. Not too crazy in terms of length. The drive could pass at least half of the line, before he sneaked in. The problem was, that the line basically did not move at all. After spending over an hour in the traffic jam, the driver made me understand that it would be almost dark until we arrived our destination. …

Like the other reviewers, I went to Yancheng for my ‘tick’ of the coastal Migratory Bird Sanctuaries. The visit starts at the iconic museum building, where it’s all about the cranes. The threatened red-crowned crane is the flagship species of the Reserve. The exhibition tells you about crane species all over the world and there is even a video shown of how to fold a paper crane. Another room shows the role cranes play in Chinese culture: it’s especially a Taoist symbol of longevity.

For my visit deeper into the Reserve, I had wanted to rent a golf cart so I could easily reach all corners of the area. However, despite considerable efforts by the guy renting them out, we could not make the full payment circle work with my Weixin Pay account. So I had to go on foot, which limited my radius of course (but the Reserve is not huge anyway). It turned out to be quite a pleasant walk and birds were everywhere, despite it being late in the season. The best chance to see its most famous visitors, the red-crowned cranes, apparently is December-January. I did scoure the sky for larger birds passing by and when looking at my pictures later on my laptop I saw that I had captured two cranes (of an unknown species) as well.

Smaller birds were plentiful on the ground and in the water. These all are common birds for the area, but still nice ones such as the …

Migratory Bird Sanctuaries (Yancheng Nature Reserve) [Visited 26 Oct, 2019]

It is tricky to plan a visit to this site. There are limited English information online. The detailed maps on the dossier shows three interpretation centers open for visitors (Yancheng Nature Reserve for Rare Birds, Dafeng Milu Nature Reserve, Tiaozini Scenic Area), but all in the buffer zones. Our Chinese fellow-WHS enthusiasts Wechat group also don’t know where and how to get to the core zones.

Only the middle section of Yancheng Nature Reserve is in the core zone. The Reserve for Rare Birds is completely in the buffer area but abuts the core on its northeast corner. Likewise, only the northeast section of Dafeng Milu Nature Reserve is in the core, the deer breeding center is way far from the inscribed area. And only one side of the Tiaozini Scenic Area abuts the core zone too.

My concrete plan was go to Yancheng and Dongtai and ask locals for specifics upon arriving. I dragged my Non-WHS seeking Taiwanese friend for a weekend trip to help me talk to the locals. It went well as expected. At the two interpretation centers I visited, I was able to see what gives the OUV and managed to walk into the core.

* Yancheng Nature Reserve for Rare Birds
Take bus K2 or K202 from Yancheng Coach Station or Yancheng Railway Station. It takes bit more than an hour since the buses run slow and numerous stops along the …

There was some confusion about where the places are until I checked the official map, and even now there is confusion. China news outlets reported the Dafeng Milu Nature Reserve to be included but actually it is not. There is an interesting history about that deer park (deer got eaten to extinction!!) and you do get to see many, many birds there but I am very sure it is not part of the inscription. My friend's family owns an eco lodge in a similar forest reserve in Jiangsu and you see many birds there of this caliber but they are obviously also not inscribed. To add to this, the entire "Yancheng Coast" is a bird paradise including several islands that are famous birdwatching destinations. China planned to inscribe many reserves/parks but ended up with just 2 to begin with - I'm guess to push the inscription through easier and add more later - but then again they do often just care about numbers so just having an inscription now doesn't mean they will prioritize extending it instead of grabbing a new +1.

Anyhow, there are 2 places near the town of Yancheng north of Shanghai and the only I chose to visit the site called "National Nature Reserve for Rare Birds". You can take a bus here from Shanghai (it's longer than you think) but I chose to fly to Yancheng instead. The flight is 1h from Hongqiao aiport. Upon arrival I took a taxi to the bus station …