The lowest plain in eastern Heilongjiang Province, the Sanjiang(Three-River)Plain embraces China's most concentrated and widely scattered marshlands. The plain came into being as a result of the allusion of the Songhua, Heilong and Wusuli rivers. It has an elevation of only about 35 to 70 meters£®Despite obvious signs of reclamation, its total wetland area is kept at about 1,04 million hectares. The plain is thickly strewn with wetlands of various types which undulate gently, and present richly colored wetland scenery, typical of the marshlands of northern China. The Sanjiang Plain Marshland is blessed with rich biological diversity, as it IS home to 291 kinds of vertebrate animals and almost 500 species of higher plants-A number of nature reserves have been established there, among which the Honghe, Xingkai Lake and Sanjiang nature reserves have been put on the "Ramsar List of Wetlands of International importance."

This low plain is China's largest fresh-water marshland, popularly known as the "Great Northern Wilderness." Walking through fields or marshes, and seeing oriental white storks, red-crowned cranes and other Fare birds strutting at ease or flying freely between the green land and blue sky, I was often moved to tears by the perfect harmony of life and nature here, and from this I could feel the true beauty and tenderness of Mother Earth.

In March, the Sanjiang Plain Marshland is alive with waterfowls. Cranes, oriental white storks and whooper swans make the place their breeding ground, and some l00,000 to 1 50,000 wild geese and ducks use it as a resting place on their way to the north. Among them, bean geese and swan geese form the majority of the geese, and mallards form the largest group of ducks, followed by pintails, faceted ducks, green wings, common poachers, tufted ducks and common golden eyes.

In summer, the Honghe Nature Reserve is a world of water, with a bewildering number of ponds and rivers. Threading through the reed ponds in a boat. I could see pond lilies everywhere and riverbanks covered with water plants. The water was lucid enough to see the bottom, with fish swimming merrily around and waterfowls chirping away.

In winter, the Sanjiang Plain Marshland puts on a completely different face. In March 200 1, a snowstorm raged for two whole days. Braving the storm and with a visibility of less than five meters, I hobbled along toward the wetland on the other side of Dalijia Lake, carrying my camera kit weigh in 915 kilograms. It was a lonely desolated islet covered with thick snow. The stream on the islet was also hidden beneath the snow, except for a narrow chink. Looking at the shrouded bushes. Cotton like snow and the winding river, I tried to find the best perspective for a picture.

Turning around to change the lens, I found my camera box missing. A closer look showed that it was already covered with snow. I trudged through the knee-deep snow as I took pictures, unaware of how far l was walking. When I turned to look back at the way I had come, I found that my footprints had long been covered up by snow. My mobile phone and BP did not work in that area, and l was isolated from the human world. Having no sense of direction, I gritted my teeth and carried on, and after I don't know how long, Istepped onto firm ground on the other side when it was all dark.

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