Green revolution on high altitude

The environmental transformation of Qinghai leaves foreign delegates in awe.

It was a sight pleasing to his eyes and soothing to his soul. Their yellowish brown coat with a white underside contrasted with the lush green of the grassland. Indeed they were a sight to behold against the backdrop of the strikingly blue waters of Qinghai Lake in Qinghai province.

Ibrahim Al-Hadid, a Syrian national, felt warm and comfortable despite the chilly autumn day; the source of his comfort and warmth being the relatively small, slender antelopes, Procapra przewalskii.

Easily recognizable by the heart-shaped white patch on its rump and more commonly known as Przewalski's gazelle, Procapra przewalskii is a species of highland antelope native to China, and now found only around the Qinghai Lake, China's largest lake in terms of surface area and classified as an alkaline salt lake.

Przewalski's gazelles were once "critically endangered", and had been put on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List. Considering the huge loss of biodiversity that would inevitably follow the extinction of the Przewalski's gazelle, China set up the country's first protection station in Qinghai in 2004, in order to prevent the species from extinction by safeguarding its habitat and food sources to increase its number.

As a result, the number of Przewalski's gazelles has increased from about 300 in 1994 to more than 3,400 at present. The antelope is now categorized "endangered" on the IUCN Red List.

"It is a remarkable achievement. It epitomizes China's increasing efforts in ecological conservation," said Al-Hadid, who is the secretary of the Aleppo University Branch of Ba'ath Arab Socialist Party of Syria. Under the Communist Party of China's leadership, China has not only realized unprecedented economic development but has also been protecting the environment and ecology, thus achieving harmony between humanity and nature.