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(Photo provided by CVG)

A natural gas project has been temporarily suspended to protect breeding sand martins, which have sought shelter within the project's construction site.

Flocks of sand martins have built nests on a 30-meter-tall cliff that is part of the construction site belonging to Shaanxi Provincial Natural Gas Co., Ltd. The site is located in Xi’an, capital city of northwest China’s Shaanxi province. The cliff formed after a small hill was excavated in the process of construction.

The project, which started in May 2006 and was due to be completed by the end of 2017, is a key provincial project under the supervision of the State Council, said Zhao Yangwen, manager of the Xi’an branch of the group, on April 26. The fact that the birds chose to settle here indicates that the environment is improving, Zhao added.

To better protect the birds, two warning signs have been erected, asking the public to stay away from the nests and reminding them of the common duty to love and protect wildlife.

(Photo provided by CVG)

On April 26, two sand martins were spotted watching over their eggs before the eggs hatched. Some birds have also started to mate in their nests.