Situated at the northern edge of the Yellow Sea Ecoregion, the Yalu River estuary in Dandong, Liaoning Province is a crucial stopover site for birds migrating along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway which spans more than 20 countries and regions from the Arctic to Southeast Asia and Australasia.

Each year from March to May, hundreds of thousands of shorebirds migrate from Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia to breed in the Russian Far East and Alaska. Serving as a pivotal final stop and refueling station, the Yalu River Estuary Wetland is essential for the breeding and survival of these migratory birds.

Recent surveys have documented 324 bird species within the reserve, including 148 waterbirds and 176 forest birds. Among these, 26 species are categorized as threatened with extinction on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, and 32 species are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendices.

The Yalu River estuary is part of the Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase II) which was included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List on July 26. The Phase I sanctuaries were inscribed in 2019.