China News Service, Lishui, October 6 (Wang Xiaojing) During the National Day holiday, a "bird watching paradise" in Jinyun, Lishui, Zhejiang is becoming a popular local check-in place. Many parent-child families make a special trip to learn about the habits of parrots up close; bird watching enthusiasts from all over the country also come here to see the rich variety of parrot species. The founder of this "Thousand Parrot Bird House" is Zhu Jiangbei, a post-90s returnee from overseas and vice president of the Jinyun County European and American Alumni Association.
During the National Day holiday in 2026, the "Thousand Parrots Aviary" located in Jinyun, Lishui, Zhejiang became a popular local "check-in place". Photo provided by interviewee
The story begins with a regret. Shortly after returning to China, Zhu Jiangbei's pet parrot suddenly fell ill. She asked around but could not find a professional hospital that could treat the disease. After some research, it was discovered that at that time, the field of parrot diagnosis and treatment in China was almost blank. This difficult problem gave her the idea of delving into the breeding and conservation of parrots.
"The first thing we built was a parrot breeding center, and we persisted for ten years." Zhu Jiangbei said that breeding is the foundation, and the park open to the public is a science popularization space extended on this basis.
Nowadays, the park has a rich variety of parrots, including basically complete small varieties. Medium and large parrots such as "King Kong" and "Sunflower" have made their home here, and stable breeding of pink cockatoos has also been achieved.
In Zhu Jiangbei's eyes, breeding does not mean simply raising birds. "We continue to invest in variety research and development, disease prevention and control, gene sequencing and species database construction." She said that relying on a complete variety reserve and population retention, the team has natural scientific research advantages, and has carried out school-enterprise cooperation with universities, focusing on the breeding of rare species with a small domestic population. For example, more than ten blue-throated macaws have been successfully bred here.
Parrots are highly intelligent social birds, and different species vary greatly in body shape and habits. Zhu Jiangbei leads a team to customize care and training plans for each parrot.
Cao Yin, the person in charge of parrot training in the park, gave an example: Keck parrots have short wings and short tails, are agile in movement, and are good at desktop interactive projects such as climbing and jumping; macaws have wide wings and long tail feathers, which are more suitable for flying displays; Amazon parrots have outstanding imitation abilities and can be trained in language learning and singing.
"Each parrot has its own characteristics, and we design training content based on their status." Zhu Jiangbei said that the core of this "bird-based teaching" approach is to respect and care for each parrot as an independent individual.
In recent years, the popularity of bird watching has continued to increase. The close-to-nature birdwatching experience not only meets the people's pursuit of emotional value, but also brings wildlife protection into the eyes of more ordinary people. To this end, Zhu Jiangbei's team did not stop at breeding in the park, but extended its work to science popularization and field rescue.
"In addition to parrot conservation, we also do wildlife rescue, and science popularization work has been advancing." Zhu Jiangbei hopes that more people can know what "magical little animals" there are in the mountains and forests, and know how to scientifically handle injured wild animals when they encounter them.
Lin Lin, a tourist from Jiangxi, has experience in raising birds. After visiting, she admitted that the experience exceeded her expectations. "The small brooding class brings intuitive bird science to children. This form is very meaningful."
When conservation projects are implemented in rural areas, they can also truly benefit surrounding villagers. Zhu Jiangbei said that after the park was put into operation, a number of homestays were opened in the village opposite; many local villagers found employment here and steadily increased their income in positions such as breeding and catering. The park also purchases locally grown agricultural products directly from farmers to open up markets for small agricultural products.
From a breeding center to a bird watching park open to the public, it extends outwards to forest wildlife rescue and science popularization. This "post-90s" returnee spent ten years blazing a path from "raising a bird" to "bringing a village alive."
