CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Tuesday, August 11, 2020 | 7 CHINA Survey collects data on avian accidents By LI HONGYANG near a glass barrier on a tourist Academy of Sciences’ Institute of [email protected] trail in a park in Taiyuan, Shanxi Zoology, mainly works on public province. According to the inves- service activities and nature edu- Two bird lovers from Chengdu, tigation, they all died after crash- cation courses. Sichuan province, are conduct- ing into the barrier. The survey will end soon, but ing a nationwide survey to prove “Birds can’t recognize glass Zhu said it will only result in a pre- that collisions with windows, ahead of them so the people who liminary conclusion and further which can be fatal for birds, are built the barrier should have surveys will be carried out. not a rare event. been aware this may hurt birds “Every year, many birds die from They started the one-year survey and should redesign it to be envi- collisions, so we want to generate a in September and by early last ronmentally friendly,” Zhu said. data set as quickly as possible to month had received more than 250 “The solution can be a lot eas- raise public attention and maybe reports of birds hitting windows or ier if the problem is highlighted. inspire other researchers to come other glass-clad structures from 24 What people need to do, for up with more valuable ideas,” he provinces and regions. example, is just to close a gauze said. Zhu Lei, who came up with the curtain during the day to blur the Zhu said that when he idea for the survey, said ordinary glass.” searched the China National people should and could do some- Zhu, who has a doctorate in Information Infrastructure, the thing to protect birds. avian ecology from the Chinese most comprehensive gateway of “The only purpose for me to information in the country, using launch the survey is to call on the key words “bird collision” more people to be aware of the and “glass”, he only found one phenomenon and help reduce research paper. the incidence of this tragedy,” he “I am considering summarizing said. and refining these reports into a Farmers harvest Sichuan peppers in Wudu district, Longnan, Gansu province. LI XIAO / XINHUA Zhu, 39, deputy director of the scientific paper for publication aft- Chengdu Bird Watching Society, er the one-year survey,” he said. and Gong Wenjie, a programmer, He is also thinking of cooperat- designed an applet that can be ing with Li Binbin, an assistant found on the WeChat instant- professor of environmental sci- messaging platform. Zhu writes ences at Duke Kunshan Universi- survey reports and Gong collects ty in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, Improved logistics put and analyzes data. who is leading a project on bird Through the applet, people can collisions. report when and where they have Since 2017, Li and her students seen a bird hit glass, what species it have been collecting information is and whether it survived. If they about birds hitting glass structures pepper in the fast lane cannot identify the species, the on the campus, which lies close to a applet allows them to upload pic- bird migration route. tures. “When we find a building where “We hope more people can join bird collisions frequently happen, In the past, the popular Sichuan spice has had trouble us, so we don’t want to make the we suggest renovation of its win- threshold too high by setting dows to reduce their transparency,” getting from the fields to consumers’ tables strict report parameters,” Zhu she said. “It turns out that after the said. “It would be better if they renovation there is a decrease in LANZHOU — For decades, Kou Due to the leap forward in describe the surroundings and such incidents. Rui’s father kept his family of seven development, Kou has seen the buildings in detail but we don’t “We are promoting a bird- afloat through the huajiao — Sich- freight journey time from his insist on that.” friendly environment on campus, uan pepper — trade. hometown to Sichuan reduced to In a report on the survey’s find- while Zhu has designed a platform Now Kou, 38, has built his own less than five hours. Meanwhile, ings for the final quarter of last to communicate with all citizens, fortune from the unique plant and locally grown Sichuan pepper is of year, Zhu presented the number which can help put bird collisions helped spice up poor farmers’ lives higher quality thanks to govern- of birds found to have hit glass, on the public agenda.” deep in the mountains of northwest- ment support, and supply is the death toll, their species, and Zhu said the biggest problem ern China. booming. the places the accidents occurred now is how to expand awareness of Despite its name, Sichuan pepper, Once a local delight, the spice has in the form of bar or pie charts, the issue. the dried, rust-colored berries of a now ventured abroad, gaining trac- and also attached videos or pho- “I hope more people learn type of spiky shrub native to parts of tion among foreign customers. Gao tographs of the sites. From top: Zhu Lei attends a bird about the survey and report bird western China, is not actual pepper. Zhidong, founder of another Sich- The account that impressed survey in Qinghai province. PRO- collisions to us so that the data Delivering a slightly numbing sen- uan pepper cooperative in Longnan, Zhu the most was filed in Octo- VIDED TO CHINA DAILY A woodpecker pool can be persuasive and the sation and a lemony, peppery aro- has not only succeeded in selling his ber after the bodies of 15 vinous- died after hitting a window. issue be more discussed and then ma, it is used extensively in Sichuan products to hotpot heavyweight throated parrotbills were found CHEN LIJUN / FOR CHINA DAILY solved,” he said. food to create its trademark flavor: Haidilao but also tapped the Ger- numbing heat. man market. Many Chinese people adore Sich- When an industry offers hope, tal- uan pepper, but its journey from ented youths step in. Ouyang Shu- Changsha pit transformed into a park farm to table used to be arduous. zhi, a college graduate in e- Kou and his family live in Long- commerce who is employed by Gao’s nan, in northwestern China’s Gan- cooperative, incorporated his CHANGSHA — A newly opened district as part of efforts to behind a huge pit covering an su province, which neighbors the expertise into its business strategies. amusement park in Changsha, the restore the environment and area of 180,000 square meters. provinces of Shaanxi and Sichuan. Last year, a third of the cooperative’s capital of Central China’s Hunan boost urban development. To heal the scar on the land, While the junction boasts a major From top: Traders choose Sich- more than 30 million yuan ($4.32 province, has become a hot topic Pingtang, on the outskirts of Hunan Xiangjiang New Area Sichuan pepper-growing region, uan peppers at a fair held in million) in Sichuan pepper sales among residents. Changsha, was home to a cluster Investment Group spent 12 billion offering locals a potential lifeline, Wudu. Sichuan peppers grown came from online platforms. The park opened on July 11, but of more than 30 construction yuan ($1.7 billion) building the soaring mountains long stood in in Wudu are known for their Niu Junping, deputy head of people had been snapping up material and chemical factories amusement park, which includes a the way. quality. PHOTOS BY CAI YANG / XINHUA Wudu district, said: “Among various tickets since the end of June. Visi- in the 1950s that caused serious lake. Construction work began in Among those to blaze a trail was Sichuan peppers of prime quality tors to the park have also includ- pollution. November 2015. Kou’s father. Three decades ago, due across China, those grown in Wudu ed the stars and production “The sky was gray and dusty at Other attractions built nearby, to the technical know-how needed years, taking advantage of district stand out due to their promi- crews of several popular enter- that time. People who lived around including a shopping street and a to grow and harvest Sichuan pep- improved logistics and introduc- nent numbing properties, thus tainment programs. here hardly opened the windows. movie theme town, helped rein- per, planting was scattered and lim- ing fresh ideas, aided by favorable enjoying popularity. And with top “We can play in the water and Our windowsills, even the leaves on vigorate the old industrial area. ited in scale. So was the trade. government policies. yields, we play a crucial role in lead- snow here in the hot summer. It’s the trees, were enveloped by dust,” “In the past, on a clear day, you Besides, the journey to the nearest Kou set up a Sichuan pepper coop- ing the domestic Sichuan pepper a great place to relax and have said 54-year-old Pingtang resident would be covered with dust, market was quite a trek. The crop erative in 2003 after completing mil- market.” parties,” said Wu Shu, who visited Xie Yiqiang. while on a rainy day, you would was in great demand in Sichuan, on itary service. Since then it has lifted At the height of summer, clumps the park with her friends. In 2008 the city government be splashed with mud,” Xie said. the other side of the mountains, but over 90 households out of poverty. of ripened berries hang from shrubs Another reason the park, shut down dozens of cement and “However, I can now invite my to carry it there Kou’s father had to “Great potential in the demand for in a village in Longnan.