‘Paradise of birds’ in SE China’s Fujian (5)

Every year, millions of birds migrate to Mingxi county in Sanming, southeast China’s Fujian province, to breed during the winter months among the dense forests and good ecological environment. 

“There is a bird-watching boom in Mingxi county. The local people have developed strong awareness of ecological environment, which is helpful for the conservation of biodiversity,” said Huang Xueding, deputy chairman of Fujian Bird-watching Society, Chinanews.com reported on May 15.

While Fujian province is referred to as the greenest Chinese province, and its Sanming city the greenest Chinese city, Mingxi county, with its forest coverage reaching 80.6 percent, has been named the “paradise of birds”. 

Mingxi county is an important hub along the route of migratory birds between East Asia and Australia.

Last year instead of reaping the rice in his 30 mu (2 hectares) of paddy fields, Lu Jiming, a 35-year-old villager of Zhongxi village, Xiafang town, Mingxi county, left all of the grains for the birds.

Lu and his fellow villagers plant lotus as well. Instead of collecting the lotus roots during the winter as most of the farmers in other areas do, they regard the lotus ponds as gifts for their bird friends who come to spend the winter.

The whole Zhongxi village has been transformed into Mingxi Wetland Park, the first provincial-level wetland park in Fujian.

The well-protected ecological environment in Junzifeng National Nature Reserve in Mingxi county attracts various birds, including the Chinese merganser, one of the world’s most endangered species.

Many birds on China’s list of first-grade state protection have also been spotted in the nature reserve from time to time. In addition, birds like the mandarin duck and silver pheasant often flock to the nature reserve in huge groups.

In recent years, Lu and other young people in his village have set up a bird protection squad, patrolling mountains throughout the winter to ensure the safety of birds’ homes, according to Lu.

“Before we knew more information about the birds on the list of first-grade state protection, protecting the birds has already been an unwritten rule in our village,” Lu said.

Residents in Zhongxi village leave their paddy fields for birds, growing edible mushrooms and local special products in greenhouses built in open spaces around their houses.

As local people have made efforts to tap into tourism programs featuring bird-watching, the homestay business Lu has run in recent years often falls short of demand during spring and winter when migratory birds visit the locality in flocks.

There have been as many as 316 species of wild birds spotted and recorded in Mingxi county, accounting for 60 percent of the figure recorded in the whole province.