(XUE YUBIN)

China has a total of 53.6 million hectares of wetlands, accounting for 5.58 percent of its territory area, according to survey figures released by the State Forestry Administration on January 13.

The survey was conducted between 2009 and 2013 to facilitate the country's wetland protection.

Total acreage of wetlands dropped 8.82 percent from a previous survey that ended in 2003.

Natural wetlands covered an area of 46.67 million hectares, or 87.08 percent of the total area of wetlands.