A flock of white egrets are resting on the branches near the pool.
Xingzhuang is a tiny village in Anhui Province that counts a population of little over 200. At first sight, it's just one of those small places that looks like any other given town in the Huaibei Plains. Yet this particular village is a special one as it can boast another type of inhabitant-the white egret. Xingzhuang is home to about 7,000 white egrets which are very well looked after by the villagers.
In Xingzhuang Village, most young people have gone off to the cities to earn money, leaving only women, children and the elderly to hold down the fort. With dense tree growth alongside its country roads, the village appears to be extraordinarily quiet. It features an amazing diversity of trees-maple, locust tree, honey locust, paulownia, Chinaberry and several other native tree varieties, someof which have been growing here for nearly a hundred years. These densely branched native tree types are ideal for birds to make their nests in. What adds even more to the livability of the town's environment is the abundant presence of fish and shrimp in the irrigation canals surrounding it. Xingzhuang's overall environment therefore makes it the perfect place for many white egrets to settle down.
Li Yangguo, a resident of Xingzhuang, still clearly remembers that first time a white egret came to the village almost 14 years ago.
"At first, there were only a few of them and we could only spot their nests on the western side of the village. Later, we discovered additional nests in trees growing in the village center. Year after year, the number of nests increases and nowadays they can be seen all over the village. The total number must be over one thousand now." Li said.
More nests mean more white egrets. The number of white egrets has now reached well over 7,000 thousand. Some are pure white, some are grey. There are actually up to seven different types of them. They fly over to the irrigation canals in the early morning to catch food and then return to the village around five or six in the afternoon. When they are flying together in a swarm, it creates a spectacular view in the sky, as if the village is shrouded in clouds.
When the white egrets firstly settled down in the village, the villagers had no real notion of bird protection. There were cases of children throwing stones at the birds or taking eggs out of their nests. The injured birds were forced to leave the village.
Veteran CPC member Li Yangguo was greatly concerned when witnessing these scenarios. He came up with an idea of creating a bird protection team and this idea received the support of other villagers. Very soon, a bird protection team consisting of five villagers was formed. The team patrols the village streets on a daily basis to prevent any harm to the white egrets.
Now, villagers in Xingzhuang Village believe that the arrival of the white egret is a priceless blessing. Whenever they encounter a sick or injured egret, they try everything in their power to save it.
"Anyone who dares to catch an egret in our village, our villagers will stop and upbraid the person," Chu Jiming, a member of the bird protection team, said proudly.
Egrets are timid by nature. In order to provide with them a quiet environment, the village of Xingzhuang has laid down three rules, each of which have been especially installed for the white egrets.
First rule is that villagers are not allowed to set off firecrackers, especially during breeding season. Then follows that villagers are not allowed to fell or sell trees as the trees are the only place for the white egrets to make their nests. If they were to be chopped down, it would have a tremendously negative effect on the birds' nesting and breeding. The third and final rule contains that villagers are strongly encouraged to plant bubble willows because the white egrets prefer to live in this particular tree variety.
At present, the three rules are being strictly observed by the Xingzhuang villagers. One villager called Li Jijun literally went out of his way to spare several trees when he was renovating his house.
Li intended to renovate his house, but the new building would take up a more space. According to the original plans, 10 trees would've needed to be cut down. One option was to apply for a new site, but it would set him back an extra 5,000 yuan. Without much further ado, Li made the decision and applied for the new site.
Today, the village of Xingzhuang is better known as the village of the white egret. More and more tourists are making their way to the remote town just to catch a glimpse of its feathered inhabitants. Sometimes the number of visitors even exceeds one hundred. The Xingzhuang villagers have laid down several rules and regulations to ensure that their cherished egrets won't be disturbed by their visitors.
