Situated in an area of 44,300 hectares crossing 5 city/county of Guangde, Xuanzhou, Nanling, Longxi and Jingxian in Anhui Province, the Yangtze Alligator Nature Reserve was set up in 1979 specially for protection of the Yangtze alligator— a rare animal unique to China.

Since the alligator is a sort of ancient reptile closely related to the early Mesozoic dinosaur, so research into the alligator's ecological and geographic distribution, life habits and biological characteristics is thus of vital importance to the study of paleogeology and the embryonic development of the dinosaur.

The Yangtze alligator's native haunt originally extended from Anhui and Jiangsu Provinces to Zhejiang Province. However, the alarming fall in the number of Yangtze alligators means that they are now found only in southern Anhui. To save this animal from imminent extinction, it was also set up an Yangtze Alligator Breeding Research Center in Xuanzhou City with an area of 100 hectares. It encompasses the water areas where the Yangtze alligators live freely. Through hard and effective working for more than 10 years, this Research Center has made a great success in the artificial breeding of Yangtze alligators with more than 4, 000 Yangtze alligators of the old — middle — young aged generations.

The Reserve will help end the feeding and breeding problems of the Yangtze alligator, allowing it to gradually expand its population. Thus, an ancient species of the Yangtze alligator has been reborn and a precious fauna resource has been seized back from the verge of death.