Beautiful early winter scenery of Ergun Wetland in N China's Inner Mongolia

Crystal-clear icicles hang on trees along the banks of Erguna River, covering the landscape in a palette of silver and white, making for a spectacular winter scene in Erguna, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Photo/Li Qiang)

The Ergun Wetland in Erguna, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, resembles a colorful oil painting as winter winds gently blow over the ice and bring a blanket of coolness, leaving a dreamlike veil on its surface.

The wetland includes forest swamp, shrub swamp, marsh grassland, inland tidal flat, and marshland as its second land grade.

Covering an area of 221,700 hectares, the wetland is the most intact in China, and is known as the "First Wetland in Asia".