China, with a total wetland area of 53.6 million hectares, ranks first in Asia and fourth in the world, official data showed.

The statistics were released by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration at the Eco Forum Global Annual Conference held in southwest China's Guizhou province.

China has 57 wetlands that are of international importance, 602 wetland nature reserves and 898 national wetland parks, according to the administration.

In the country's wetland ecosystem, there are 4,220 species of plant and 2,312 species of animals, with the wetland protection rate reaching 49 percent, the statistics showed.