Dancing with the cranes

A red-crowned crane in close contact with its raiser and protector. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

A popular Chinese song in 1990s tells the story of a young college girl falling into the marshes while trying to save a red-crowned crane and just to lose her life in Yancheng, Jiangsu province. Her devotion and braveness have both touched and inspired many people for years. Some people initiated voluntary work to protect these rare animals.

The soldiers with the Yancheng border protection troops at the Yancheng Wetland National Nature Reserve, which was set up in 1983, have been raising and protecting those beautiful red-crowned cranes from poachers.

Over the past three years, they have caught more than 150 poachers and rescued five red-crowned cranes. These brave soldiers are called "dancers with the cranes" and the "watchmen" for the wetlands by locals.