General Secretary Xi Jinping’s Concerns | Polishing the Plateau Sapphire—Chronicle of the Protection of Qinghai Lake

The Qinghai Lake in front of you is vast and endless. The lake stretches like a ribbon, connecting with the snow-capped mountains in the distance and blending into the sky, creating a picturesque scenery.

Qinghai Lake is the largest inland saltwater lake in China. Qinghai Province, with a total area of ​​more than 700,000 square kilometers, is named after it. Affected by climate change and human factors, the ecological environment of the Qinghai Lake Basin has been deteriorating: the water level has continued to decline, the land desertification area has continued to expand, and the number of rare and endangered wild animals has decreased.

"Ecology is resources and wealth, and it is our treasure." During his inspection in Qinghai, General Secretary Xi Jinping repeatedly told the responsible comrades of the local party and government that Qinghai's strategic position in ecological civilization is very important and carries a heavy weight. It is necessary to build Qinghai's ecological civilization well and protect its ecological resources.

Today, Qinghai Lake is writing a new chapter in the construction of a wetland-type national park with integrated protection of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grass, sand and ice. The water quality rate reaches 100%, the grassland comprehensive vegetation coverage reaches 60%, the wetland protection rate reaches 69%, and the "grass-river-lake-fish-bird" symbiotic ecological chain tends to be balanced... The reporter recently interviewed along the lake and talked with Zhanlan The water, flying birds, migratory fish, and the smiling faces of the herdsmen filled our hearts. The "Plateau Sapphire" Qinghai Lake is rippling with blue waves and regaining its brilliance.

In summer, Fairy Bay of Qinghai Lake is full of clear blue. From time to time, waterbirds fly across the lake, causing ripples with golden waves.

"The hard-won achievements in Qinghai Lake's ecological protection and environmental governance must be cherished and continuously consolidated and expanded." In June 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized during an inspection at Fairy Bay in Qinghai Lake.

This is a corner of Qinghai Lake taken in Gonghe County, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province on May 18, 2023. Photo by reporter Zhang Long

Fairy Bay is located in Gangcha, a Tibetan city on the north shore of Qinghai Lake. Recently, it has welcomed waves of tourists, and it is hard to find a bed in some hotels along the lake. “Clean and hygienic” is many people’s first impression of this small town.

In fact, Gangcha was famous for its "strong style" in the early days. Affected by natural and human factors, Gangcha County and Haiyan County in Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture near Qinghai Lake have experienced large areas of grassland degradation and land desertification.

“When eating in a sandy area, half a bowl of sand and half a bowl of noodles,” said Haiyan County forest farm worker Deng Yongshou, who was deeply impressed by the harsh environment at that time. “There was a lot of wind and sand in Gangcha. Since 1997, I have participated in sand control in the Ketu sandy area. , when the wind is strong, it can overturn the tent we live in. Often the trees planted in the first year will disappear in the second spring.”

In recent years, efforts to control lakeside desertification in Gangcha County, Haiyan County and other places have been continuously intensified. Driving around the Qinghai Lake area, the reporter saw rows of green Qinghai spruce and Scotch pine, which seemed to be neatly arranged. The green guards witness the beautiful change of Qinghai Lake’s sand as it recedes and becomes green.

The "strong wind" is no longer the case. Today, the average proportion of days with excellent air quality in Gangcha County is more than 97%, which is better than the province's air quality assessment standards. The area of ​​sandy land in Haiyan County has decreased from 1.486 million acres in the early 1980s to 926,000 acres now.

Sand dunes turn into oases and lake levels rise. However, the proliferation of Cladophora has become another threat to the ecological environment of Qinghai Lake.

“A few years ago, I discovered that patches of green or yellow Cladophora would float on the lake surface in the summer,” said Lahuo, a herdsman from Niannasoma Village, Quanji Township, Gangcha County.

Relevant studies show that the water level of Qinghai Lake has continued to rise in recent years, resulting in the formation of a large new submerged area in the lakeside zone, causing abnormal proliferation of Cladophora in Qinghai Lake. If not treated in time, Cladophora will have an adverse impact on the ecological environment of Qinghai Lake.

Since October 2022, the water ecological environment protection and restoration project in key waters of Qinghai Lake has been officially launched, and projects such as Cladophora salvage, land debris removal, and lakeside habitat improvement have been carried out.

Last summer, La Huo, together with many herders, actively participated in the management of Cladophora algae in Qinghai Lake. Thanks to the efforts of many parties, a total of 95.05 million yuan has been invested in the treatment of Cladophora in Qinghai Lake, and more than 99,400 tons of Cladophora have been salvaged. The salvaged Cladophora has entered the fertilizer plant, turning waste into treasure and becoming "green manure", and the lake surface is once again rippling with blue waves.

At present, the yellow catfish in Qinghai Lake has entered its migration season. As a river that feeds Qinghai Lake, the Quanji River in Gangcha County is turbulent. Thousands of yellowtail fish swim upstream to lay eggs and reproduce, forming a spectacle of "half river clear water and half river fish".

"Ecology is our precious resource and wealth." General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized during his inspection in Qinghai.

The unique plateau wetland ecosystem of Qinghai Lake hosts many rare and endangered species, and the fish-bird symbiosis system is extremely influential and representative.

Huangyu, whose scientific name is "Qinghai Lake naked carp", is a rare species unique to Qinghai Lake. In the past, there were many well-known "fishing villages" on the banks of Qinghai Lake. The fresh and delicious Huangyu allowed the villagers to "eat fish" to support their families until the number of Huangyu plummeted.

Now in Qinghai Lake, "Huangyu industry" has a whole new meaning. The row of small shops selling fish food next to the Quanji River Bridge is bustling with tourists. 55-year-old Guo Yongzhong and his wife rented four shops for 6,800 yuan. Last year, they earned 15,000 yuan during the peak migratory season alone. Ten thousand yuan.

Guo Yongzhong is outgoing and talkative. He still clearly remembers the hardships of fishing back then. Taking advantage of the high price of fish in winter, they braved the severe cold to dig an ice cave in the frozen Qinghai Lake, used a lead machine to place a "dragon net" under the ice, and then caught all the fish that had overwintered in the water. Sometimes the nets under the water surface float away with the current, leaving fishermen with nothing to catch. Some people are even taken away by the drifting nets and never traced again.

This is a brown-headed gull photographed in Qinghai Lake on April 13, 2023. Photo by reporter Zhang Long

"Internet is so expensive, I feel bad! What was a pity at that time was not the resources." Guo Yongzhong said, "I later learned that the benefits of Huang fish are great. For example, if there are fewer Huang fish, plankton will overflow and the lake will become eutrophic. It then evolved into a ‘dead lake’. Only now do we know how to cherish Huangyu resources.”

In order to protect Huang fish resources, Qinghai has protected fishery resources by closing lakes for fish breeding, increasing and releasing fish to improve the survival rate of Huang fish, and has built multiple fish passages around the lake to "escort" Huang fish.

The "fishing village" became a "fish-protecting village". Whenever the Quanji River stopped flowing and fish were stranded, the villagers filled the fish in wooden basins and put them back into the lake.

"Protecting Huangyu means protecting resources and protecting future generations." This is how the villagers now understand the importance of ecological resources.

From 2002 to 2023, the resources of yellow fish in Qinghai Lake increased nearly 46 times. During the peak migration period of the yellowtail fish, migratory cormorants in Qinghai Lake have also entered their breeding peak, hunting the yellowtail fish in groups.

In the Xiaobo Lake Wetland in Gonghe County, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, on the south shore of Qinghai Lake, the clear water stretches to the sky. Flocks of waterbirds hover over Qinghai Lake, sending out bursts of chirping, echoing the yellow fish in the water.

Herder Nanjia often takes his granddaughter Ganggyen Tsomao to see two pairs of black-necked cranes in the nearby woods. The black-necked crane is a migratory bird and the only crane in the world that breeds on plateaus. From March to October every year, these two black-necked crane couples always return to Xiaobo Lake, find their own nests, and "have children" safely.

In recent years, Qinghai has strengthened scientific research monitoring and special governance actions, and achieved remarkable results in the protection of biological diversity, including birds. As an important node in the international migration channel for migratory birds, Qinghai Lake has recorded 281 bird species and 606,000 waterbirds throughout the year. It has become the breeding ground with the largest number and most concentrated population of migratory birds in my country.

Changjiu Xie, deputy director of the Qinghai Lake Scenic Area Protection and Utilization Administration, said that the symbiosis of fish and birds is one of the important results of the improvement of the ecological environment of Qinghai Lake waters. It has witnessed the changes in the ecological environment of Qinghai Lake and has become the epitome of Qinghai's ecological environment protection.

In the early morning, a blushing light slowly rose from the vast lake. On the bank of the lake, there were yurts dotted, cattle and sheep were all over the slopes, and wild flowers were blooming.

During his inspection in Qinghai in 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to implement the national ecological strategy, summarize the pilot experience of the national park system such as Sanjiangyuan, and accelerate the construction of a national park system with national parks as the main body, nature reserves as the basis, and various natural parks as supplements. A natural reserve system to protect the natural ecology, conserve natural resources, and maintain biodiversity.

In 2022, the National Park Administration approved Qinghai to launch the creation of Qinghai Lake National Park.

While walking in the Hargai area of ​​Gangcha County, Haibei Prefecture, reporters found that the original 1.5-meter mesh fences that were common in pastoral areas have generally been reduced to 1.2 meters. The sharp barbed wires on the fences are also hard to find, making it easier for animals such as Przewalski's gazelle to migrate and jump.

Przewalski's gazelle is an endangered wild animal in the world. It was once widely distributed in Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Qinghai, but now only exists in the Qinghai Lake area.

This is a Przewalski's gazelle photographed on the grassland in Hargai Town, Gangcha County, Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province on January 24. Photo by reporter Zhang Long

The Hargai region is where the Przewalski's gazelle population lives and breeds. Local herders affectionately call the Przewalski's gazelle the "elf of the steppe." In July 2021, herders Zhou Zengben and his cousin Suonan encountered an abandoned young gazelle during an ecological patrol. They took the young gazelle home for treatment and fed them with small bottles.

With the joint efforts of the government and herdsmen, the number of Przewalski's gazelles in the area around Qinghai Lake has increased from less than 300 in the early stages of protection to more than 3,400 now. The harmonious coexistence of man and nature has become the unique and beautiful scenery here.

Protecting the beautiful mountains, water and scenery, the herdsmen around the lake have also reaped a good life from Qinghai Lake.

The straight-line distance between Ningxia Village, Quanji Township, Gangcha County and Qinghai Lake is less than 10 kilometers. The traditional animal husbandry model once severely degraded the grassland here. In recent years, Ningxia Village has actively explored "spring rest grazing, summer nomadic grazing, autumn rotation grazing, and winter free grazing". Grazing” new grazing model.

Walking into Ningxia Village, groups of white Tibetan sheep and yaks are like black and white notes flowing on the grassland. "Controlling the number of livestock according to the natural environment will result in 'beautiful ecology and rich people.'" said Cai Bao, deputy secretary of the Ningxia Village Party Branch.

This is a corner of Qinghai Lake taken in Haiyan County, Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture on September 21, 2022.

Qinghai Lake is a wetland national park. In order to protect the wetlands, a team of wetland ecological managers is active on the banks of Qinghai Lake.

Wearing patrol uniforms and riding a motorcycle, 57-year-old herdsman Duo Rijie patrols the wetlands around the ranch every day. Due to the large area under his supervision, he would spend more than half a day on patrol every time on his motorcycle, and it was common for him to miss meals. He said that since he became a caretaker, he must be responsible to the end.

As winter turns to spring, no matter how hot or cold it is, he witnesses the ecological changes of Qinghai Lake with his feet covered in soil.

Many years ago, looking at the beautiful scenery of the Jinyintan grassland on the north shore of Qinghai Lake, Wang Luobin, the king of western singers, wrote the famous song "In That Distant Place".

Nowadays, green water and green mountains are set against the white clouds and blue sky, and the "Chinese Water Tower" is more solid and abundant.

Along with the herdsmen's beautiful songs, the sound of waves, birdsong and the clatter of horse hooves on the grassland lakeside merge into the sound of Qinghai Lake's green development in the new era. New voices emerge one after another, endlessly...