Large Saltwater Lake, Soon a Protected National Park!

China’s largest inland saltwater lake, located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, will become a new national park that will double as an essential ecological barrier and a critical stopover site for migratory birds.

“The planned scope of the Qinghai Lake National Park demonstrates its national representativeness, ecological significance, and management feasibility,” explains Dong Fuhai, director of the protection and utilization administration in the Qinghai Lake scenic area.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has long been the focus of environmental protection efforts and a leader in national park construction. Last year, the comprehensive protection of the Sanjiangyuan National Park was made possible by releasing a master plan, as will the upcoming official designation of the Qilian Mountain National Park. Qinghai Lake is home to more than 606,000 water birds of 288 species, making it one of China’s major breeding grounds for migratory birds. The population of the endemic naked carp, known as huangyu in China, increased almost 38-fold following conservation efforts between 2002 and 2020.