Anhui Shengjin Lake National Nature Reserve is located on the south bank of the middle and lower reaches of the River Yangtse. Dominated by lakes and freshwater marshes and boasting good water quality, it is one of the best preserved inland freshwater lake systems along these stretches of the River. The Site plays a role in regulating floods along the Yangtze, and contributes to water purification and regional climate regulation. It also provides an important stopover and wintering ground for migrating waterbirds along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway: a total of 175 bird species have been recorded, including globally threatened species such as the critically endangered Baer’s pochard (Aythya baeri) and Siberian crane (Grus leucogeranus), and the endangered oriental stork (Ciconia boyciana). Known as the “Chinese crane lake”, Shengjin Lake is the largest wintering ground in China for the vulnerable hooded crane (Grus monacha) whose numbers can reach up to 500, the highest population count in the world.