In Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, known for its high-tech development and dazzling modernity, a recent dispute over park lighting attracted wide attention, and the winner was wildlife.
A Shenzhen resident posted a message on a city online forum to express concerns about the lighting along the pathways of a popular bayside park. The resident felt these pathways were too dark at night and suggested installing more streetlights for both safety and aesthetic purposes.
However, the city's park management center rejected the request. It said that adding brighter lights would have a negative impact on migratory birds that use the wetland as an indispensable stopover along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Notably, bright lights can disorient birds during their nighttime migrations and disturb winter roosting.
The center also said that basic lighting remains at major entrances and intersections to meet visitors' essential needs for safe passage.
This official reply did not arouse more public complaints. Instead, it was met with a wave of praise on social media in March.
"Shenzhen is friendly to small animals. This is true urban warmth," one user wrote on WeChat. Another commented: "Let the birds rest at night. After all, we all share the same planet."
There are more than 450 species of wild birds in the city, which account for one-third of the total number of wild species in China, according to the latest survey by Shenzhen's ecological environment department.
Cai Xiao, a birder from East China's Shanghai, gives a thumbs-up to Shenzhen, saying the recent lighting issue there highlighted social progress, as both residents and city authorities were aware of this risk and willing to address it.
"Compared to the past, when the focus was only on increasing lighting to attract visitors, this marks a significant change. For bird enthusiasts like us, it is truly heartening,"Cai adds.
In recent years, this South China innovation hub has begun reinventing itself with many efforts focused on biodiversity-inclusive designs.
A shining example is the coastal Binhai Avenue, where residents and environmental protection volunteers observed that intense glare from streetlights was startling passing flocks. Local political advisers, together with several government departments, soon worked on the problem and spent two months modifying lamps to find a balance, making them bright enough for drivers and dim enough for birds.
Beyond lights, Shenzhen has added patterned stickers to tall glass buildings to prevent bird collisions and released official guidelines requiring more bird-friendly urban planning and designs.
The most striking symbol of this philosophy is the Kunpeng Trail No 1 Bridge, which connects two mountains that were separated due to the construction of an expressway. To offer a migration passage for wild animals, Shenzhen built a footbridge. Only one-tenth of the bridge deck is paved for human use. The rest is left for use by small animals, such as leopard cats and wild boars, and features many plants to create a forest-like setting.
In 2024, weeks after opening the bridge, infrared cameras captured a leopard cat padding across it.
"The bridge has reserved ample space for the habitat and migration of wildlife, creating a 'dual corridor' where humans and wildlife coexist harmoniously without disturbing each other," says Nan Zhaoxu, a Shenzhen-based scholar who studies the city's nature and history.
Two more such bridges for animal migration opened last year.
Many of Shenzhen's approaches have been emulated by other Chinese cities, which are incorporating biodiversity protection into their urban planning. No longer pursuing economic growth at the expense of the environment, they are finding that more wildlife is returning to enjoy city life.
Social media comments sum up this progress: "This is the attitude a civilized city should have."
