Welcome to Wild Beijing, a website dedicated to celebrating the wildlife of China’s capital city. It is inspired by this quote from Baba Dioum, Senegalese conservationist, who said:
“In the end, everyone wants to protect what they love. But they can only love what they know.”
In the context of a worsening biodiversity crisis and the growing knowledge about the risks to humans of the loss of nature, it is vital to connect more people to nature.
The general level of awareness about the nature we have all around us, and our reliance on it, is frighteningly low all over the world. As an example, from right here in Beijing, it is often a surprise, even to lifelong Beijingers, that more than 500 species of bird have been recorded in the Municipality, making Beijing one of the best birding capital cities in the world, ranking second among G20 capital cities in terms of number of species recorded. With world-class wetlands such as Miyun Reservoir and Wild Duck Lake (Yeyahu), wooded mountains, grassland and a surfeit of parks, Beijing provides excellent birding all year round. However, it is spring and autumn when the capital experiences the spectacle of migration on a staggering scale and it is at these times that exciting birds can be found even in the tiniest of green spaces in the city centre. It’s not only birds that make Beijing a good place to see wildlife; China’s capital city is also one of the few major capital cities to hosts wild cats – the shy Amur Leopard Cat can be found in the mountains and wetlands of Beijing – as well as a range of other special wildlife, including more than 170 species of butterfly and more than 60 species of dragonfly and damselfly (more than the whole of the UK!).
This website aims to provide residents and visitors alike with as much information as possible the wild creatures of Beijing and some of their incredible stories, such as the migration of the Beijing Swift and Beijing Cuckoo, both of which link China’s capital city with southern Africa.
As more people fall in love with nature, there will be more support for policies and actions to protect it and the places it needs.
As well as the regularly updated blog, there are pages about the latest sightings, the best sites and what can be seen there, as well as information about Beijing’s amphibians, birds, butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies, mammals, plants and reptiles.
Conservation is a priority for Wild Beijing and, in partnership with the China Birdwatching Society, Peking University, Beijing Forestry University, BirdLife International, the British Trust for Ornithology, Oriental Bird Club, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership and others, Wild Beijing supports those in China working to protect its unique wildlife and the places it needs. Wild Beijing is privileged to work with ShanShui Conservation Center at Peking University, including to set up China’s first community-based wildlife-watching tourism project in a National Park – the award-winning “Valley of the Cats” project on the Tibetan Plateau – supporting local incomes and Snow Leopard conservation.
Since 2019, Wild Beijing has been working with the Beijing Municipal government to develop ideas to make the city better for wildlife, including a “Blueprint for Biodiversity”.
All information on this site is provided for free. If you make use of the resources, please consider making a donation, via JustGiving, to BirdLife International or, if you have WeChat and can read Chinese, to ShanShui Conservation Center via this link to support their conservation work
Wild Beijing is indebted to the many local and foreign birders and wildlife enthusiasts who have contributed a great deal to the content found on this site. My sincere gratitude goes to them all.
Thank you.
Terry Townshend, Beijing
To contact Terry, please fill in the table below.
