Bird race becomes learning opportunity

Fifteen teams, comprising 60 bird enthusiasts from 21 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across China — including front-line rangers from various nature reserves — participated in the event. Over a span of 77 hours, they engaged in intensive bird observation activities around Qinghai Lake, covering the counties of Haiyan, Gangca and Gonghe.

"The road circling Qinghai Lake spans about 360 kilometers," Zhong explained. To reach certain birding sites by the lake, the bird-watchers often had to navigate bumpy dirt roads and find their way through broad grasslands, which Zhong described as "a maze created by fencing".

To complete the race in three days, all participants had to lodge in a different hotel each night. Two of these hotels were located on the northern bank of the lake, while another was on the southern bank. "To visit the best birding sites multiple times, we often had to drive back and forth, spending long hours in the car," Zhong said. "I think to complete the race, a team would probably drive more than 1,000 km."

During the event, the bird-watchers — equipped with cameras featuring telephoto lenses and telescopes on tripods — became a part of the landscape along the broad and open lake shore. "The bird-watching, much like a form of performing art, highlighted the importance of Qinghai Lake as a bird sanctuary to local herders and other tourists," Lei said.