Zhangjia Lake comes back to life with birds in flight

Date: 2026-05-27

In Tianmen, Hubei province, Zhangjia Lake is coming back to life. The 600-plus-hectare wetland - once affected by reclamation, siltation and water pollution - is now becoming a safe haven for birds.

The Baer's pochards, a Class I nationally protected species in China, have been spotted at Zhangjia Lake for several consecutive years. The lake area has also recorded more than 260 tundra swans, the highest number seen here in a decade.

Behind the birds' return is a careful wetland restoration effort. Local teams dredged 2.25 million cubic meters of silt and used it to build two butterfly-shaped habitat islands in the middle of the lake, covering a total area of 332,000 square meters. With no bridges, roads or lights, the islands have been left to nature, giving migratory birds a quiet place to feed, rest and breed.

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By China Three Gorges Corporation

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