In Nanjing, Jiangsu, photographer Hao Xianing took millions of photos in more than ten years. He compiled and published the photos of birds he followed into children's science picture books. At the same time, the photos he took also recorded the ecological changes of the city over the past decade.
Hao Xianing officially started taking bird photos in 2009. He has taken hundreds of bird species and millions of photos. After retirement, he compiled the photos and published them into children's popular science picture books, so that more children can understand birds and nature. For more than ten years, from mountainous areas to wetlands, from Yangtze River coast to urban lakes, Hao Xianing's lens not only records the survival and reproduction of birds, but also records the ecological changes in Nanjing over the past decade.
Nanjing has rich wetland resources. In 2014, the "Nanjing Wetland Protection Regulations" began to be implemented, and the local area has taken a series of measures such as returning fishing to lakes and restoring habitats. The ecological conditions of Nanjing wetlands have improved significantly, and the species and number of wetland birds have also increased significantly. Such changes are also reflected in Hao Xianing's lens.
Hao Xianing said that in the early years, most of the photos were taken were ordinary birds, and it was rare to see owls . And in recent years, more and more birds that were previously rare can be photographed frequently.
In Hao Xianing's view, more changes are reflected in the relationship between humans and birds. In the past, when he photographed birds, he often saw bird-catching nets with dead birds hanging. Now it is basically impossible to see. People's environmental awareness has improved, and people and nature have become more harmonious. The ecology is better, the environment is more beautiful, and the photos taken by Hao Xianing are also more beautiful.
In addition to the birds in the camera, Hao Xianing also clearly felt that over the past decade, Nanjing's biodiversity has become richer and its ecosystem has become more complete.
In November last year, Nanjing City proposed a new goal for the ecological environment protection plan during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period: the city's forest coverage rate remains above 31%, the natural wetland protection rate reaches above 69%, and biodiversity is effectively protected. For Hao Xianing, he also hopes that his shots in the future can record more and more birds, more beautiful nature, and more harmonious ecology.
