Wildlife rescue station staff in the Changbai Mountains release a hand-hatched Chinese merganser by a river. Photo: Courtesy of the Changbai Mountain Nature Conservation and Management Center

　　Editor"s Note:

　　"Building an ecological civilization concerns the well-being of the people and the future of the nation."

　　Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, pointed out: "Respecting, adapting to, and protecting nature is essential for building China into a modern socialist country in all respects."

　　As outlined in the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national economic and social development, securing major breakthroughs in strategic tasks of overall importance to Chinese modernization and making major new progress in the Beautiful China Initiative are set as key objectives.

　　The Global Times is launching a series of articles titled "BeautifulChinaING." From the perspectives of the beauty of nature, the beauty of system and the beauty of lifestyle, the series uses both Chinese and international cases as entry points. Through field reporting and video storytelling, it explores how green development has become a defining feature of Chinese modernization while showcasing China"s role as a responsible major country providing global public goods.

　　In this installment, as May 22 marks the International Day for Biological Diversity, we turn our focus to the Chinese merganser in the Changbai Mountains, where decades of conservation, scientific innovation and community participation are helping revive one of the world"s rarest birds while showcasing China"s broader ecological restoration efforts.