BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- China established 17 new national forest parks last year, bringing the total number to 897, according to a National Forestry and Grassland Administration report.

The national forest parks covered a total area of 12.87 million hectares at the end of last year. China also had 474 national-level nature reserves.

With increased policy support and financial investment, China has achieved remarkable results in wetland protection. Over 70,000 hectares of wetland were restored last year, bringing the country's wetland protection rate to 52.2 percent.

Haikou, Harbin, Changde, Changshu, Dongying and Yinchuan were honored to enter the world's first list of international wetland cities in October last year.

China also intensified its efforts to crack down on ivory trade, the slaughter of wild animals and other criminal offenses.