Scenery of wetland in Maqu County, NW China

This aerial photo taken on July 5, 2023 shows the wetland at the Hequ horse ranch in Maqu County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of northwest China's Gansu Province. (Xinhua/Fang Xin) 

Located on the northeast brink of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Maqu County boasts an extensive presence of grasslands and wetlands. Maqu, meaning "the Yellow River" in the Tibetan language, is the only county named after "Yellow River" in China. Covering an area of 5.62 million mu (about 374,667 hectares), Maqu wetlands are known as the "kidney of the Yellow River".

Maqu County has continued to implement integrated protection and restoration projects of its environment in recent years and water conservation and ecological functions have been further improved.

This aerial photo taken on July 6, 2023 shows the summer scenery of the Awancang Wetland in Maqu County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of northwest China's Gansu Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Keren)

This aerial photo taken on July 6, 2023 shows the summer scenery of the Awancang Wetland in Maqu County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of northwest China's Gansu Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Keren)

A black-necked crane flies over the wetland in Maqu County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of northwest China's Gansu Province, on July 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)

This aerial photo taken on July 6, 2023 shows the summer scenery of the Awancang Wetland in Maqu County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of northwest China's Gansu Province. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)

This aerial photo taken on July 6, 2023 shows the summer scenery of the Awancang Wetland in Maqu County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of northwest China's Gansu Province. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)

This aerial photo taken on July 6, 2023 shows the summer scenery of the Awancang Wetland in Maqu County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of northwest China's Gansu Province. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)

This aerial photo taken on July 6, 2023 shows tourists enjoying the summer scenery of the Awancang Wetland in Maqu County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of northwest China's Gansu Province. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)

This aerial photo taken on July 6, 2023 shows the summer scenery of the Awancang Wetland in Maqu County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of northwest China's Gansu Province. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)

This aerial photo taken on July 6, 2023 shows the summer scenery of the Awancang Wetland in Maqu County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of northwest China's Gansu Province. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)