As of May 2024, more than 300 bird species have been recorded in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.

Hunan Gaowangjie National Natural Reserve is located in Guzhang County, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. The forest coverage rate of this area has reached 88.4%.

So far, 215 bird species have been recorded in the reserve, including three rare bird species under first-class national protection—elliot's pheasant, golden eagle, and scaly-sided merganser; and, 26 species under second-class national protection such as golden pheasant, mandarin duck, red-billed leiothrix, and Chinese Hwamei.

Xiangxi Prefecture has been awarded with the titles of "key national ecosystem service zone", "national forest city", and "key ecological barrier along the Yangtze River Economic Belt". There are three national-level and five provincial-level natural reserves, and five national wetland parks. In recent years, Xiangxi has formed a bird protection mechanism guided by the prefecture government, administered by the ecological environment, forestry, water resources, and natural resources authorities, and participated by the public.

Hunan boasts rich bird resources, with 523 species recorded around the province.

The East Asian - Australasian Flyway (EAAF) passes through Hunan, making it an important province in central China for migratory birds and their wintering. Four of the nine major flyways around the world pass through China, encompassing three routes within Hunan, along Xuefeng Mountain, Luoxiao Mountain, and Nanling Mountain ranges respectively. According to the 2023 and 2024 surveys of waterbirds wintering across the Dongting Lake, 381,800 birds of 80 species have been recorded, slightly increasing over the previous year.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: Voice of Hunan