Gift of land from the sea

Yancheng city of Jiangsu province has been growing larger year by year, thanks to the sand and mud left by the Yangtze River and the Yellow River.

Coastal wetlands, also known as tidal flats, are formed in many estuarine areas when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. The tidal flats in Jiangsu province are China's important land reserves.

Yancheng claims 67 percent of Jiangsu's tidal flats and one seventh of China's total. And the area is growing by 20,000 mu (1,333 hectares) per year.

Jiangsu's coastal development plan has given new opportunities to these newly born flats: several large-scale reclamation projects to utilize the land have been planned and Tiaozini Reclamation Project in Dongtai is one of the earliest that has been launched.

The project plans to reclaim 400,000 mu tidal lands by 2015 - 60 percent of the reclaimed land will be used to develop agriculture, 20 percent will serve ecology protection and 20 percent will be used for construction.

New energy has also found their place here. A new energy project featuring wind and solar power has been established right beside Tiaozini, and the power generated has been transmitted by East China Power Grid.