11th Dongting Lake International Bird-watching Festival Kicks off

The opening ceremony of the 11th Dongting Lake International Bird-watching Festival and the Dongting Lake Museum were held in Yueyang on December 7. Domestic and foreign ornithologists, scholars, environmental protection volunteers, and other guests attended the feast. Hunan Vice Governor Chen Wenhao attended and announced the opening of the event.

In recent years, the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and the People’s Government of Hunan Province have been keeping in mind General Secretary Xi Jinping’s entrustment and carried out a series of Dongting Lake protection and restoration measures. The wetland ecological environment quality has been continuously improved. According to the survey, the number of birds in the Dongting Lake area has been increasing steadily. There are 352 bird species, accounting for one-third of the total number of species in China. The number has increased by more than 20,000 per year to 247,000.

Vice Governor Chen asked all sectors of society to implement the spirit of the important instructions given by President Xi Jinping during his visit to Hunan; adhere to the systematic management of landscapes, forests, fields, lakes, and grasslands; and work together to build a beautiful Dongting Lake with vast expanses of blue water and beautiful scenery, to guarantee a clear and long-running Yangtze River for the future generations.

The Dongting Lake International Bird-watching Festival has been held for 10 sessions since 2002. “Welcome to the Dongting Lake for Bird Watching in Winter” has become an ecological calling card of Yueyang. The theme of this year’s festival is “Protecting Bird-watching Resorts and Building a Beautiful Dongting Lake”. It is sponsored by the Forestry Department of Hunan Province, the Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, the Development and Reform Commission of Hunan Province, the People’s Government of Yueyang City, the People’s Government of Changde City, and the People’s Government of Yiyang City.

Li Xianxing, deputy secretary-general of the People’s Government of Hunan Province, participated.

Translator: Yu Jiangjiang

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn