As we observe World Migratory Bird Day on the second Saturday of May, Qinhuangdao, a coastal city in North China's Hebei province, has become a hub for watching and protecting birds passing through a busy flyway.

Dubbed China's "birdwatching capital", Qinhuangdao sits at a critical bottleneck of the East Asian–Australasian Flyway and is recognized as one of the world's top four birdwatching destinations, according to local authorities.

This year's theme — "Every bird counts, your observations matter" — has taken on a practical meaning here, where enthusiasts and authorities work side by side.

A month-long public birdwatching contest that began on April 20 has drawn 185 enthusiasts, who have already recorded 219 species. "We upload our sightings to a bird record center to help enrich Qinhuangdao's bird data," one of the participants, Wang Junya, said.