Dongying in East China's Shandong province is working to stimulate cultural and tourism consumption with special offers and discounted tickets at the city's major travel destinations, including the Yellow River Estuary Ecological Tourism Zone and the Snow Lotus Grand Theatre.

Yellow River estuary offers spectacular views

The Yellow River empties its bright yellow waters into the deep blue Bohai Sea near Dongying. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Yellow River Estuary Ecological Tourism Zone, covering an area of 153,000 hectares, is a popular tourist destination for viewing landscapes and watching birds.

The wetland's landscapes change throughout the four seasons, with tamarisks turning red and willows greening in spring, rivers rippling in summer, reed catkins flying in autumn, and plants being dressed in silver coats in winter.

The zone is known as the "bird's paradise" and the "international airport for birds", as it is home to 368 species of birds and serves as a transit station for migrating birds throughout Northeast Asia. During winter, over 6 million birds reside and breed in the zone.

The administrative committee has built wooden trestles, a bird information park, a wetland park, and buildings for observing birds from a distance in order increase the zone’s tourism appeal.

Media workers visit the Bird Information Park in the Yellow River Estuary Ecological Tourism Zone in Dongying on Oct 28. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]