Qinghai Province in northwest China recently initiated a project aimed at improving the ecological environment of Qinghai Lake, China's largest inland saltwater lake, and turning its bird island into a bird paradise.

The project will involve an investment of 4.5 million yuan (542, 000 US dollars), and 44.4 hectares of trees and 1,933 hectares of grass will be planted in the Qinghai Lake nature reserve in accordance with the plan.

The number of birds on the bird island on Qinghai Lake is on the rise, and the number of species has risen by 40 percent over 10 years ago thanks to the improving environment.

Covering an area of 4,500 square kilometers, Qinghai Lake is a nature reserve listed under state protection, and the bird island was cited as an important international wetland by the United Nations in 1992.

Statistics show that approximately 100,000 birds of 189 species migrate to Qinghai Lake every summer.

Nevertheless, since the early 1970s, the number of birds had been declining owing to a deteriorating ecological environment, increased human activity around the lake, and the lake's dropping water level.

The provincial government issued rules and regulations to protect the birds in 1985 and again in 1994, and put a seven-year ban on fishing for the protection of the birds' food source. (Xinhua)