Beijing, March 7 (Youth.cn) - On March 6, 2025, at Chengshan Swan Lake in Rongcheng City, Shandong Province, whooper swans circled and danced in the morning sunlight as they bid farewell to their wintering grounds and flew toward distant northern destinations.

With the arrival of spring and rising temperatures, the population of whooper swans overwintering in Rongcheng has begun migrating northward in batches. Currently, fewer than a thousand swans remain at the site. Due to this year’s cooler spring temperatures, the swans’ return migration has been delayed compared to previous years.

Designated by the Chinese government as the “Hometown of the Whooper Swans,” Rongcheng welcomes tens of thousands of these majestic birds each winter as they migrate from Siberia and other cold regions. The swans have typically all begun their return migration by mid-March of the following year. Photo/CFP