The Ulunggur Lake National Wetland Park in Fuhai County in Altay, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (COURTESY PHOTO)

By GONG Qian

In December, the Ulunggur Lake National Wetland Park in Fuhai County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is carpeted with snow and ice. But when it gets warmer in spring, the scenery is spectacular with thousands of migratory birds inhabiting in the area or flying over the lake.

With an area of more than 127,000 hectares, the Ulunggur Lake is the largest permanent freshwater lake in northern Xinjiang. In recent years, it has witnessed increased biodiversity after a series of measures were taken to protect the environment, Ren Yuehu, deputy director of the park's administration bureau, told Science and Technology Daily.

The local government is implementing the river/lake responsibility system, where officials at different levels are assigned responsibility for the governance of specific rivers and lakes. So far, more than 110 officials at the county, township and village levels are involved in this.

"We continue to promote the implementation of ecological restoration projects," said Ren. This helps improve the quality of water and the living environment of aquatic organisms.

The administration bureau has taken several measures to preserve the natural habitat of birds and ensure their survival by building bird nests, establishing conservation stations, and conducting regular patrols. They have stepped up efforts to spread the knowledge of wetland protection, and organized a volunteer team to clean up the garbage around the lake. Such actions have made the locals become aware of wetlands protection.

"In the past, some of our local people had a weak awareness of bird protection. Now, when they found injured birds, they could contact us and take the birds to the rescue and breeding station for treatment," said Ren.

The ecological preservation efforts by the local government and people have led to an increase in the number of bird species, rising from 67 in 2017 to 271 in 2021. The main species include cormorants, tadorna ferruginea and pintails. In 2019, the white-headed duck, an endangered species that is also the prototype of the cartoon image of Disney's famous Donald Duck, was discovered in the Ulunggur Lake for the first time. Additionally, the numbers of fish and plant species in the lake have increased to 23 and 222, respectively.

Built up as a good natural ecosystem, the lake has also become a well-known scenic spot, boosting tourism in Fuhai. As of December 26, the county has welcomed over 3.8 million tourists, an increase of 68.06 percent year on year. Tourism revenue has crossed 2.2 billion RMB, up by 49.13 percent year on year.