The 4th "Meeting the Sea Along the Yellow River" Yellow River Estuary International Bird Watching Season kicks off in Dongying, Shandong

China News Service, Dongying, November 13 (Reporters Zhao Xiao and Wang Feng) The fourth "Meet the Sea Along the Yellow River" Yellow River Estuary International Bird Watching Season and Cultural Tourism Promotion Event kicked off in Dongying, Shandong Province on the 13th, with the theme of "The Yellow River embraces the blue, we shake hands with the world". Chinese and foreign guests gathered in the Yellow River Delta to enjoy the ecological landscape of thousands of birds flying together, and to explore the integrated development path of "ecology + cultural tourism".

The fourth "Meeting the Sea Along the Yellow River" Yellow River Estuary International Bird Watching Season and Cultural Tourism Promotion Event opened. Photo by Zhao Xiao

As a city at the mouth of the Yellow River, Dongying is the core carrier of Shandong Province’s cultural tourism brand of “Meeting the Sea Along the Yellow River”. The Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve located here is the world's largest breeding ground for Oriental white storks, the world's second largest breeding ground for black-billed gulls, and the southernmost limit for wild breeding of red-crowned cranes. 407 species of birds have been monitored. Every autumn and winter, the "bird wave" surges and the "wild geese formation" is like a tide, which concretely interprets the image of "Kunpeng" in "Zhuangzi·Xiaoyaoyou".

Wang Xiufeng, deputy mayor of Dongying Municipal People's Government, said in his opening speech that the city adheres to ecological priority and green development, and uses the creation of the Yellow River Estuary National Park as a guide to promote ecological restoration and environmental governance. “Ecology is Dongying’s precious heritage, and cultural tourism is a bridge that makes this heritage visible to more people.”

Wang Xiufeng said that Dongying insists on transforming ecological advantages into cultural tourism resources, vigorously cultivates and develops the "bird watching +" economy, and launches a series of new products and new business formats "traveling with the waves of birds". "In this bird watching season, we look forward to deepening resource sharing and mutual transportation of tourists with the nine provinces and regions along the Yellow River, and carrying out more pragmatic cooperation with cultural tourism companies and OTA platforms from various countries."

Wetland bird-themed cultural and creative products were on display outside the venue. Photo by Zhao Xiao

According to He Zengming, deputy secretary-general of the China Wildlife Conservation Association, China is rich in bird resources, with 1,505 existing bird species, accounting for about one-sixth of the world's total bird species. Four of the world's nine migratory bird migration corridors pass through China, and the protection of migratory birds is of great significance. "We have long carried out volunteer flight protection operations, bird love week science popularization and other activities, and are committed to building a bird protection working mechanism led by the government, coordinated by multiple departments, and widely participated by the public."

He Zengming said that Dongying City has achieved outstanding results in bird protection, achieving a virtuous cycle of ecological protection and ecological enrichment. The popular "bird wave" landscape has driven the bird watching economy to flourish. We are currently in a critical period of migration of migratory birds. We hope that the local government will take this event as an opportunity to mobilize the whole society to participate in the protection of migratory birds and make bird protection a social consensus.

On November 12, tourists took photos of the "bird wave" landscape in the Yellow River Delta Wetland in Dongying, Shandong. Photo by Zhao Xiao

Edward Game, chief scientist of the Asia-Pacific region of The Nature Conservancy, said in his speech that the protection of migratory birds cannot only rely on the government, universities, enterprises and relevant conservation agencies. It requires the joint efforts of the whole society, insisting on scientific-based ecological management and protection, and expanding the living space for migratory birds.

According to Edward Game, the East Asia-Australasia migratory bird migration route is an important natural ecological network in the world. Millions of migratory birds migrate along this route every year. The Dongying Yellow River Delta Wetland is like a lighthouse, not only ensuring the safe transit of many migratory species, but also playing a leading role in inspiring other areas along this migration route to carry out more conservation actions. “We look forward to more people becoming practitioners and disseminators of ecological protection and working together to protect the migration channels of migratory birds.”

It is understood that this bird-watching season is hosted by the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, the Shandong Provincial Department of Natural Resources and the Dongying Municipal People's Government. It includes an opening ceremony, a national traveling salesman conference, collection and promotion, bird-watching competitions, public education and other sections. During the event, product routes and cultural tourism consumption measures for the bird watching season were released to promote resource sharing and mutual transportation of tourists along the Yellow River. (over)