Harbin is the capital of Heilongjiang Province, China governing nine districts and nine counties. The Ramsar Site, Heilongjiang Hadong Yanjiang Wetlands, is situated in Harbin City. As a part of the trunk stream of Songhua River, Harbin East Riverside Wetland is located in the east of Songnen Plain, Northeast China and the South Bank of Songhua River. With the average altitude of 114 m, it belongs to the inland water wetland ecosystem mainly containing swamp wetland, inland delta and river wetland. Being flat and open, with continuous rivers and wetlands, beaches, many oxbow lakes, large and small bubble marshes, it forms a large area of herb marshes and shrub marshes. Its marsh area exceeds 64% of the total area and the original state, as its main body, is intact.

The Harbin East Riverside Wetland has complex vegetation varieties and diverse wetland types, and is home to a number of rare and endangered wetland waterfowls. It plays an important role in protecting the world’s rare wildlife resources and the natural ecological environment of typical wetlands in biogeographic areas. Its wetland ecosystem has important ecological benefits in water conservation, flood regulation and storage, soil and water conservation, climate regulation and so on.

The Harbin East Riverside Wetland serves as a hydrological regulator of the upstream wetland and plays an important role in maintaining the ecological characteristics of the downstream river and floodplain wetland. It has played a key role in the ecological health of Songhua River Basin.

The Harbin Forestry and Grassland Bureau takes charge of all the wetlands in the city, including the Harbin East Riverside Wetland. In particular, Daowai District Agriculture and Forestry Bureau is responsible for Harbin East Riverside Wetland.

The Harbin Municipal Government established the Harbin leading group of wetland protection and management, being in charge of the coordination and discussion. The group is made up of the General Office of the Municipal Party Committee, Publicity Department of the Municipal Party Committee, Editorial Office of the Municipal Party Committee, Education Bureau, Agriculture and Rural Bureau, Natural Resources and Planning Bureau, Forestry and Grassland Bureau, Water Affairs Bureau, Urban Management Bureau, Finance Bureau, Public Security Bureau, Ecological Environment Bureau, and the district and county (city) people’s governments.

Harbin has formulated and issued the “Work plan for wetland protection and restoration in Harbin” and the “Medium and long-term plan for wetland protection in Harbin (2019-2035)”.

Harbin has built wetland parks. Hulan Hekou Wetland Park and Daowai Baiyupao Wetland Park are open to the outside world, which have achieved good economic and social benefits. At the same time, relying on Harbin wetland every year and according to the characteristics of wetland resources in different seasons, Harbin Wetland Festival is held in summer, and Harbin Ice and Snow Festival is held in winter. Among them, Harbin Ice and Snow festival has been incorporated into legislation.

Harbin organized the Forestry Bureau, Education Bureau and other departments to prepare and print Harbin wetland protection and management education books, and carried out special classes on wetland protection and management in middle and primary schools in the city to popularize wetland-related education.

The municipal government has issued and implemented the work plan for water pollution prevention and control in Harbin, and the city has implemented special work such as “water ecological environment treatment in Ashe River Basin” and “water ecological environment treatment in Songbei District”. The municipal government has also promoted and improved the relevant mechanisms for the quality and quantity management of agricultural and domestic water in the city, and issued the three-year action plan for improving the quality and efficiency of urban domestic sewage treatment in Harbin (2019-2021).

Harbin has built a “Harbin Wetland Publicity and Education Hall” which comprehensively displays popular science education. The Municipal Bureau of Culture coordinates the haxia concert and carries out science popularization. The municipal government also organizes domestic and international wetland city representatives and experts to conduct the “Harbin Wetland Development Forum”.