The site is located in Henan province on the North China Plain, on what was a channel of the Yellow River until the River was diverted in the 19th century. It now forms a part of the Huaihe River Basin and is an important source of drinking water for Minquan county and Shangqiu City. It features a reservoir, and also the permanent river which feeds it and aquaculture ponds. The site provides important waterbird habitat along the East Asia - Australasia Flyway migration route and regularly supports 60,000 individuals, including more than 1% of the biogeographical populations of a number of species qualifying the site as a wetland of international importance under Ramsar Criterion 6. Of these, some species are threatened with extinction, including the critically endangered Baer’s pochard (Aythya baeri) as well as the endangered Oriental stork (Ciconia boyciana) and far eastern curlew (Numenius madagascariensis). The wetlands are important for hazard reduction in this flood-prone part of China, as well as for maintaining the local hydrological regime.