Drafting a green code for the blue planet: Coastline restoration

Satellite imagery reveals China's remarkable coastal restoration in full view. Decades of targeted, science-backed ecological efforts have revived barren coastal deserts and degraded wetlands into thriving barriers, turning ecosystem decline into steady recovery.

Once a ravaged tropical desert plagued by severe sandstorms, the Qiziwan Bay in Changjiang County in south China's Hainan Province has been greened through decades of dedicated afforestation and innovative sand-control technologies.

The local women's volunteer team has played a pivotal role, establishing over 40 square kilometers of coastal shelter forests by 2024.

Futian Mangrove in Shenzhen is China's only national nature reserve in an urban core.

Over 20 years of systematic restoration has expanded mangrove coverage and boosted both bird species and numbers. Its recovery as a key stop on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway marks a successful balance between urban development and wetland protection.

At Minjiang Estuary Wetland in Fuzhou, former aquaculture ponds have been restored to contiguous ecological wetlands through water connectivity and habitat improvement.

Satellite images show expanded habitats for waterbirds and fully restored ecological functions, reviving the vitality of the coastal zone.