China's Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the coast of the Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf (Phase I) were inscribed on the World Heritage List as a natural site on Friday at the 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee in Azerbaijan's capital.[Photo/Xinhua]

He said that East China's tidal mud flats have long been affected by economic development. "Major human activities, such as aquaculture and construction of wind power plants, and the spread of such invasive species as spartina (a cordgrass) on the mud flats have destroyed many of the country's tidal mud flats," he said. As a result, the rich intertidal wetlands in Yancheng and Dongtai have become vital for many shorebird species' survival.