Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea and Bohai Gulf of China (Phase I)

UNESCO Natural World Heritage site on the Yellow Sea coast of Jiangsu — intertidal mudflats serving as a critical stopover for millions of migratory shorebirds on the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, including several critically endangered species.

The Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea and Bohai Gulf (Phase I) were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2019, covering the Yancheng Tiaozini intertidal mudflat and the Dafeng Milu National Nature Reserve in Jiangsu Province. Phase II, inscribed in 2023, extended the property northward.

The Yellow Sea coastal mudflats are a critical node on the East Asian–Australasian Flyway (EAAF), one of the world's most important bird migration corridors, linking Arctic and sub-Arctic breeding grounds with wintering areas in Southeast Asia and Australasia. During spring and autumn migrations, millions of shorebirds stop on the tidal mudflats to refuel on the extraordinarily productive benthic invertebrate community — including ghost shrimp and bivalves — before continuing their transcontinental journeys.

The site provides critical habitat for several globally threatened species, including the spoon-billed sandpiper (fewer than 500 individuals survive worldwide), the critically endangered Nordmann's greenshank, the bar-tailed godwit (which undertakes one of the longest non-stop migratory flights of any bird, up to 12,000 km), and the red knot. The Dafeng component area also hosts the world's largest managed herd of milu (Père David's deer) — a species extinct in the wild by 1900 and reintroduced to China from captive populations maintained in Britain.

The mudflat landscape is not conventionally scenic, but birding during spring migration (late April to early May) offers extraordinary encounters with dense flocks of shorebirds. The Dafeng Milu National Nature Reserve provides more accessible wildlife viewing with the deer in a semi-wild managed environment. Both areas have dedicated visitor infrastructure with hides, boardwalks and guided birding tours.