BEIJING — China will transfer 80 million cubic meters of water to the Xianghai Wetland in Northeast China's Jilin province, the Ministry of Water Resources said on April 7.

Due to less rainfall, the areas of Xianghai Wetland and Niuxintaobao Wetland have been shrinking, and their biodiversity has been threatened, prompting the government to divert water from a reservoir 192 km away to quench the thirsty Xianghai Wetland.

The diversion is expected to remarkably increase the water surface area of the wetland and be conducive to its biodiversity, aquaculture and tourism.

The Xianghai Wetland, located in the Northwest of Tongyu county in Jilin province, is a nature reserve to mainly protect rare waterfowls such as red-crowned cranes and rare plant communities such as the Mongolian yellow elm.