A Chinese crane guardian and thousands of visitors from outside the mountain

By: Xu Tan, Guangming Daily

During a blustering storm on the first day of the year, Chen Guanghui made her way through the frost and fog towards flocks of black-necked cranes (Grus nigricollis).

Every year between November and April, flocks of the elegant and graceful cranes travel to the vast plateau wetlands in Dashanbao, a state-level nature reserve located in Zhaotong, Yunnan Province, China.

Guanghui rescue feeding in the Dashanbao Black-necked Crane National Nature Reserve during the extreme frost weather. Photo: Xu Tan/Guangming Daily

Plateau wetlands have been termed ‘an indispensable habitat’ for these cranes, as they are highly productive in terms of water resources. These wetlands host a diverse food supply that significantly boosts flock sizes and breeding success.

But this uniquely important high-altitude habitat – host to numerous types of rare flora and fauna – is also extremely fragile, at risk from the expansion of agriculture, climate change, and overgrazing. In turn, the black-necked crane has been declared ‘Near Threatened’ on the IUCN Red List, denoting the vulnerability of both the animal and its habitat.

Black-necked Cranes, Yunnan Province, China. Photo: Xu Tan/Guangming Daily

For Guanghui, the new year is perennially a busy period in her work. Dressed in a bright pink headscarf and carrying a basket of corn kernels, the mother of three is among a group of crane guardians who assist Dashanbao National Nature Reserve staff to rescue cranes that struggle to find food during extreme weather such as frost, rain and snow. Guardians also assist by monitoring bird numbers and ecosystem health.

Guanghui rescue feeding in the Dashanbao Black-necked Crane National Nature Reserve. Photo: XuTan/Guangming Daily

Over the past 20 years, Guanghui has participated in rescue feeding operations for more than 90 black-necked cranes. Sometimes the cranes have rescued her too: one day she fainted as she struggled to rescue a black-necked crane frozen in the ice, only to be awakened by the cry of others nearby, allowing her to escape from the ice.

A cold day in the Dashanbao Black-necked Crane National Nature Reserve. Photo: Xu Tan/Guangming Daily

Her love for the cranes makes the bitingly cold patrols easier, she explains. Residents in Dashanbao have a long history of awe and love for the animals, calling them ‘divine birds’ in the local vernacular. During the 1990s, Chen Guanghui's mother-in-law become the first crane guardian in Dashanbao, and served as a volunteer for many years.

The Dashanbao Black-necked Crane National Nature Reserve is one of the selected sites in the Global Environment Facility-financed, UNDP-supported project “Strengthening the protected area network for migratory bird conservation along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway in China.” This East Asian-Australasian flyway project is supporting the migratory path of more than 50 million migratory waterbirds, including 36 globally threatened species and 19 near-threatened species.