Whooper swans paint pretty picture on lake (5)

Growing grassroots awareness also helps protect the habitat for the swans.

Tanchos, 47, is an ethnic Tibetan and runs a home guesthouse and a restaurant close to the lake. With more than 20 tents and 30 rooms, he receives 150 guests a day in peak season, usually in June.

In 2011, he accompanied more than 10 different groups of guests to see the swans. Familiar with the surroundings, he always found spots free of charge offering close-up observation.

This year, he expects a similar number of guests, although he has been told he is one of the few people who does not charge for bird-watching.

His village has more than 1,000 residents, mostly ethnic Tibetans, who do not eat fish and are kind to animals. Yet the scaleless carp, a special product of Qinghai Lake, is being clandestinely fished out, despite a government ban in 2001 on the endangered species under second-class State protection due to overfishing.

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