Protecting undersea beauty
![](https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/image_e/2020/timg.jpg)
![](http://img2.chinadaily.com.cn/images/202305/24/646d4f70a310b60580cd8ab1.jpeg)
An online program on young people's career choices spotlights a coral conservationist, Xing Wen reports.
In 2014, a sophomore student at the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts went with friends for a birthday celebration to Beijing Zoo.
Little did he know that a chance encounter at the aquarium there would ignite a lifelong passion. As Xu Yitang gazed upon clusters of vibrantly hued corals of intricate shapes basking in the glow of the tank's light, a sense of wonder washed over him. Lost in the beauty and mystery of the creatures, he spent the entire afternoon in front of it.
Fast-forward to today, Xu, a Beijing native, has relocated to the tropical island of South China's Hainan province, where he serves as a coral conservationist for a Sanya-based tropical biological laboratory affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
![](http://img2.chinadaily.com.cn/static/2017www_liftstyle_index_/img/v-3.jpg)