More than 5,000 people are to be relocated to protect a colony of red-crowned cranes, an endangered species with a worldwide population of only 2,000.
The bird is an important symbol in Chinese mythology, representing longevity and immortality. A common image in Chinese art depicts a hermit or reclusive scholar who cultivates bamboo and looks after cranes.
Zhalong National Nature Reserve in Heilongjiang province, which covers 210,000 hectares, is China's largest artificial breeding center for the cranes and home to 20 percent of their global population.
Local people have traditionally made a living from fishing or selling reeds. However, human activity seriously affects the birds. The reserve's environment is deteriorating and people are taking the cranes' food.Â
In March 2005, fire broke out while farmers were reclaiming land, destroying much of the area's marshy grassland. Fortunately no birds died.
According to Wang Wenfeng, a manager at the reserve, the only way to stop the damage to the environment is by moving the villagers out - all 5,396 of them.
More than 160 million CNY (26 million USD) has been earmarked for the project, and the search is on for land where the villagers can be resettled.Â
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More than 5,000 people are to be relocated to protect a colony of red-crowned cranes, an endangered species with a worldwide population of only 2,000.
