Sanmenxia launches White Swans' Day activity

On Oct 20, the city of Sanmenxia in Henan province held a launch ceremony in Sanmenxia Swan Lake Wetland National Park in celebration of the upcoming White Swans' Day on Nov 22.

Sponsored by the Sanmenxia forestry and garden bureau, the activity was attended by more than 1,000 government officials and volunteers from all walks of life.

In recent years, the government has paid increased attention to the conservation of natural wetlands and wild animals by setting up two national nature reserves with a total area of 44,000 hectares. The Yellow River wetland in Sanmenxia, covering an area of 28,500 hectares, accounts for around 42 percent of the total area of the Henan Yellow River Wetland National Nature Reserve, and there exists 1,121 species of wild plants and 1,066 species of wild animals in the Sanmenxia wetland alone.

The municipal finance bureau of Sanmenxia has offered two million yuan ($288,164) to be used to protect wild birds since 2014, including white swans and golden pheasants. Thanks to the well-conserved ecological environment, tens of thousands of white swans stay in the city every November during their annual winter migration away from the cold, Siberian winter. Sanmenxia has subsequently become known as the "swan city". 

In order to make adequate preparations for the arrival of these beautiful creatures, the Sanmenxia Yellow River Wetland Administration has started to initiate protection work since early October this year and plan to encourage more people to get involved.