A festival for nature lovers

Event aims to raise environmental awareness among school pupils

Bird watching appears to be in vogue in China. A dozen "international" birding events have been held across the country already this year, and several more are on the horizon.

Aside from promoting the hobby, which is popular in many Western countries, the main aim of these events is to attract tourists to some of the country's less-visited scenic areas. Jingshan county, in Hebei province, has even lobbied to be called "China's Hometown of Bird-watching", for example.