By Yang Wenming, The period from October to May of the following year is the perfect time for bird watching in Yingjiang county, Dehong Dai and Jingpo autonomous prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan province, as the rainfall decreases and the dry season approaches.
At this time, Xu Xiaolong, a villager from Shiti village in Taiping township of Yingjiang county, would get his homestay ready to accommodate the influx of tourists, which is almost fully booked every day during this peak season.
With a forest coverage rate of over 90 percent, Shiti village is home to over 450 bird species, accounting for more than 1/3 of those found across China.
It boasts a large number of bird species under national-level protection such as the grey peacock-pheasant, collared falconet, and bay-headed bee-eater. Additionally, three species of hornbills, including the malabar pied hornbill, wreathed hornbill, and great hornbill, have stable breeding grounds in Shiti village, making it known as the “hornbill valley of China.”
Leveraging the abundant bird resources, Yingjiang county has vigorously developed the bird-watching industry. By coordinating bird-watching activities with ecological conservation efforts, a new path for development has been paved.
In the past, Shiti village was home to over 300 residents. However, as the village was rarely visited by tourists due to its poor transportation, these residents lacked the expertise in tourism services.
In 2015, the government of Yingjiang county initiated a campaign to promote bird-watching activities, and local bird-watching enthusiasts also established a bird-watching association of Yingjiang county, which not only bolstered bird conservation efforts but also facilitated the development and utilization of bird-watching resources in the area.
Additionally, significant improvements were made to local infrastructure, and financial incentives were provided to villagers who transformed their residential properties into homestays.
In a couple of years, the “hornbill valley of China” began to gain reputation. Currently, there are over 30 bird-watching spots in Shiti village, with more than 50 bird guides who can proficiently identify over 100 bird species. The village provides a number of services for bird enthusiasts from accommodation to tour guide, and to transportation.
The per capita disposable income in Shiti village surged from less than 2,000 yuan ($273) in 2015 to 12,800 yuan ($1748) in 2023, thanks to the booming bird-watching industry. This not only lifted residents out of poverty but also effectively protected the local mountains and forests, fostering harmonious coexistence between bird-watchers and birds.
Today, protecting birds, forests and the ecology has been incorporated into village regulations and become a consensus among villagers. Even children in the village are aware of the importance of protecting birds.
Developing a bird-watching industry presents significant challenges, with the creation of bird-watching sites being one of the toughest.
A successful bird-watching spot requires attracting birds to the area and keeping them there. Building ponds, introducing food sources, and ensuring the right environment can help establish a thriving bird habitat. From a distance, shelters or hides allow visitors to observe and photograph birds without disturbing them.
As Xu explained, “Photographers often travel long distances. If they spend three to five days waiting without capturing anything worthwhile, it’s hard to maintain a steady stream of visitors.”
Creating a bird-watching site may seem easy, but Xu has faced his share of obstacles. Choosing the right location, studying migration routes, ensuring adequate water sources, and providing food for the birds are all delicate balances to strike.
If the site is too close to people, the birds may avoid it; if it’s too far from where people live, and it might deter visitors. Underfeeding won’t keep the birds around, but overfeeding increases costs and risks altering the birds’ natural behavior.
Since 2017, the bird-watching association of Yingjiang county has conducted 10 training sessions in Taiping township, teaching local residents to identify common species in the area, and providing practical guidance on bird-watching services. Xu found these sessions invaluable, saying, “I’ve learned so much.”
In Shiti Village, bird watching spots are divided into two types. One includes sites where bird watchers can feed the birds, and the other is for watching hornbills where feeding is not allowed.
Why is artificial feeding necessary?
“During the dry season when food is scarce, timely and appropriate feeding supplements the food for birds,” said Jin Yinde, an official with the Yunnan Tongbiguan provincial-level nature reserve. However, unlike “bird cages,” birds in these spots come and go freely without restrictions, and sufficient food and water sources help the survival of bird species.
Yingjiang county guides villagers to develop in a differentiated manner and has built 55 spots for watching great hornbills, collared falconets, and grey peacock-pheasants.
Birdwatchers are flooding into the village as the number of bird-watching spots expands. The rich bird resources and sound ecological environment are also attracting more and more tourists to the village. This poses challenges to Shiti village – how should it balance protection and development, regulate bird-watching activities and avoid disorderly competition?
“Core zones of protected areas must stay closed,” Jin told People’s Daily. Located near the Tongbiguan provincial-level nature reserve, Shiti village must coordinate bird-watching activities with ecological protection when building bird-watching spots, strictly adhere to ecological red lines, plan bird-watching spots reasonably, set appropriate distances between the spots, and strictly control the density of bird-watching spot distribution.
Shiti village has established a specialized cooperative invested by households involved. Under unified management, it distributes profits to its investors.
The village has also invited the bird-watching association of Yingjiang county to provide training sessions, guiding villagers to strengthen the management of bird-watching spots, strictly control the daily number of tourists based on environmental carrying capacity, and feed the birds in moderation and at appropriate times, so as to minimize disturbances to the environment.
In Yingjiang today, ecological conservation projects such as artificial nests for birds, hornbill conservation, and transnational cooperation on bird protection are continuously advancing. The activities of bird watching and bird protection have formed a virtuous cycle. More and more wild and rare bird species are choosing to settle down in Yingjiang.
