1. Yancheng’s wetland protection experience shared at a side event in Busan
A themed side event titled Flying Beyond Borders, focusing on cross-border conservation of the Yellow Sea tidal flats, was held in Busan, Republic of Korea. The Yancheng Wetland and Natural World Heritage Conservation and Management Center co-organized the event. Its Director Wu Qijiang delivered an online speech covering Yancheng’s local wetland governance practices and transboundary conservation cooperation.
At this event, the Busan Statement was released to advance joint protection of the Yellow Sea ecosystem. Around 100 representatives from UNESCO, IUCN, South Korean environmental authorities and migratory bird conservation organizations attended the forum.
The Yancheng Yellow Sea Wetlands, the world’s first natural World Heritage Site dedicated to migratory birds, serves as a core anchor of the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, sustaining more than 50 million migratory birds every year. This serial transboundary heritage site first inscribed in Yancheng in 2019 has expanded to cover five provinces and municipalities across China by 2026. South Korea’s tidal flats were added to the World Heritage List in 2021, while the coastal wetlands of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are on the UNESCO Tentative List. Against this backdrop, a trilateral cooperation framework for Yellow Sea wetland conservation is taking shape.
2. Yellow Sea Wetlands Museum Selected as a Provincial Model Case of Smart Tourism in Jiangsu
The Yellow Sea Wetlands Museum is the only project from Yancheng shortlisted for the 2026 Recommended List of Immersive Smart Tourism Cases in Jiangsu Province.
As the world’s first specialized museum themed on the Yellow Sea wetland ecosystem, it integrates 5G, artificial intelligence, AR/VR technology and big data to provide immersive science popularization, real-time ecological monitoring and cultural heritage communication services. This provincial-level recognition acknowledges its outstanding digital innovation in World Heritage-themed cultural tourism.