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BBNJ Xiamen
2026-07-17
After the tide recedes, the mangroves are lush and green. [Photo/Xiamen Daily]
The marine ecological protection and restoration project along the Jiuxi Estuary–Dadeng Bridge section in Xiamen, Southeast China's Fujian province, has been officially completed, transforming the once barren mudflats into a sprawling, verdant "forest by the sea".
Given the intricate geology of the intertidal mangrove planting area, the cofferdam foundations were built on thick, heterogeneous soft silt strata with very weak load bearing strength.
Walking along the coastal tidal flats, the meticulous work of ecological restoration is evident in every detail. The well-ordered, level mudflats are clean and broad, while the mangroves, interspersed at just the right density, flourish and wind sinuously along the coast.
As a key project in Fujian's marine protection efforts, it restores about 1.54 million square meters of sea area — including 264,800 sq m of new mangroves and 1,236,200 sq m of dredging in invasive smooth cordgrass zones and the surrounding waters. After ecological restoration, annual carbon sequestration is estimated to hit 200 metric tons.
At the coastal mudflats from the Jiuxi Estuary to Dadeng Bridge, the mangroves merge into a continuous stretch after the tide recedes. [Photo/Xiamen Daily]
With successive breakthroughs in tackling technical challenges, the planting rate reached as many as 40,000 Kandelia mangrove seedlings a day. In the end, the restoration of 26.48 hectares of mangroves was completed in just 120 days, significantly earlier than planned, while the survival rate of the planted mangroves stood at above 86 percent.
With the subsequent progression of silt dredging and other work, the Jiuxi Estuary inlet has gradually transformed from a degraded shoreline choked with weeds and clogged mudflats into an ecological coast featuring green mangroves, clean water, pristine tidal flats, and thriving birdlife.
The well-connected waterways, stable mudflats, and lush forest belts now interweave to form a self-regulating, virtuous cycle coastal wetland ecosystem. This has notably enhanced marine hydrodynamics and reinforced the coastal defense system.
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