As winter approaches, flocks of migrant birds in the Maqu wetlands in Northwest China's Gansu province are preparing their trip to the south.

Maqu, meaning "the Yellow River" in the Tibetan language, is a major destination for migrant birds in the breeding season. In recent years, the number of migrant birds has increased as local authorities enhanced their protection and wetlands conservation.

"Protecting migrant birds has brought meaning and fun to our job," said Wang Jiayang, a staff member of the management and protection center of the Gansu Yellow River Shouqu national nature reserve, which covers the Maqu Wetlands.

Maqu wetlands, with an area of more than 373,000 hectares, sit at an average altitude of 3,500 meters. A fishing ban has been applied on the wetlands for nearly 20 years, offering abundant food supplies for the migrant birds.

"During extreme weather, our staff would also offer aid to the migrant birds and provide them with extra food," Wang said.

In April 2021, nearly 30,000 migrant birds appeared in areas in the Shouqu national nature reserve, the largest number ever recorded by the reserve, according to local authorities.

The number of black-necked cranes, which are under top protection in China, reached more than 480 in the wetlands in recent years, Wang noted, adding it shows the effectiveness of the local wetlands protection.

Maqu wetlands once suffered from shrinking lake areas, grass degradation, and decreasing water conservation capacity.

"The area of the wetlands shrank one-third at the worst time," said Ma Jianyun, a senior engineer at the natural resources bureau of Maqu County.

The provincial government launched a lot of measures in recent years to increase wetlands protection, such as grazing bans and the restoration of degraded pastures.

Wetlands conservation and restoration have been implemented on more than 26,600 hectares so far, said Ma, adding that the wetlands are expanding with increasing water conservation capacity.

As the environment improves, many herders living in the area have led a new life, embracing tourism and reducing grazing.

In the nearby Wote Village, the local government invested more than 50 million yuan (about $6.9 million) in 2019 to build the village into a tourist hotspot featuring leisure activities and local folk customs and culture.

Dakao, a local herder, took the opportunity to open a homestay and reduced the number of yaks from over 200 to about 80.

Chongge, his daughter, said life has got better as the family can receive about 15,000 yuan of subsidy for less grazing as well as gain 30,000 yuan of revenue from their homestay annually.