Briefly

200,000 rare fish to be released into Yangtze

China began to release 200,000 Chinese sturgeon into the Yangtze River as part of efforts to protect the rare fish. The first 100,000 were released in the city of Yichang, Hubei province, on Saturday, with two more releases to follow, according to the China Three Gorges Corporation. The company has conducted similar releases every year since 1984. With a history of 140 million years, the Chinese sturgeon is among the most ancient vertebrate species on Earth, and is under Class-A protection. This is mostly achieved through artificial breeding followed by release into the natural environment. The sturgeon released this year are between six months and 14 years old, a spread aimed at fostering the restoration of the wild population.

National Tourism Day to be celebrated in May

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has announced plans to celebrate National Tourism Day in May, in a bid to boost the recovery and development of the tourism industry. According to a notice released by the ministry on Friday, online and live activities will be held across the country from May 1 to 31 in observation of National Tourism Day, which will fall on May 19. The main venue for celebrations will be in Heshun, an ancient town in Tengchong in Yunnan province. An exhibition will be held from May 19 to 21 to showcase the latest achievements in tourism. The notice called on local authorities to take steps to boost tourism, including issuing vouchers for cultural and tourist activities, and staging artistic performances for the public.

Ayakum usurps Bosten as largest Xinjiang lake

Researchers have noticed that Ayakum Lake at the eastern foot of the Kunlun Mountains in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has expanded rapidly, replacing Bosten as the largest lake in Xinjiang. The result, based on remote sensing observation carried out by the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, shows that the lake's area has expanded rapidly over the past 30 years and stood at 1,127.7 square kilometers by the end of 2021, surpassing Bosten, which has a surface area of 1,064 sq km. Ayakum is a saltwater plateau lake and had an area of 500 sq km in the 1980s. The team attributed the expansion to the intensification of glacier melt and an increase in precipitation.

Xinhua