Photographer warns of danger to rare bird and Hulukou hydropower plant listens

A hydropower plant in Yunnan province has changed its water discharge plan to protect the breeding habitat of river terns, a protected bird in China.

The Hulukou hydropower plant on the Dayingjiang River, an upstream tributary of Myanmar's Irrawaddy River, planned to discharge water from March 26 to April 1 for maintenance reasons.

Four days before it began the discharge, nature photographer Cun Zhiyong became worried. The discharge was estimated at 3 million cubic meters, which would substantially raise downstream water levels.