As one of the most popular tourist destinations in Hebei, Qinhuangdao has adopted an ecology oriented approach and built itself into a model city for ecological development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area.

The city welcomed 72 million tourists last year.

"With about 466,667 hectares of forest and 64,000 hectares of wetland, Qinhuangdao is home to more than 500 bird species, accounting for nearly 36 percent of China's total," said Liu Xuezhong, secretary-general of the city's birdwatching association.

To provide the birds with a more favorable habitat and to combat pollution, the local government has also taken a series of measures such as an all-out ban on fertilizers and the launch of large-scale afforestation.

According to Hu, the constantly improving environment in the wetland has attracted black-faced spoonbills this year, an endangered species picky about their surroundings.

"A conspicuous change can be seen here, with both the number of species and birds on the rise, which has attracted a large number of birdwatchers from home and abroad," Hu said.

Xinhua