Back in the village, Yang has his own smokehouse, where he preserves his fish ready for market. Longshan carp have unusually soft scales and a very delicate flavor, perhaps as a result of the local water. Meanwhile, outside the smokehouse, there're something fishy going on.

 

 

To mark the harvest, the village is staging a party. Children from Longshan School have spent weeks preparing for their big moment. Everyone from the community is here to support them. The rice growing cycle is complete.

 

 

By November, northern China is becoming distinctly chilly, but the south is still relatively warm and welcoming. Across the vast expanse of Poyang Lake, the birds are gathering. Tundra swans are long-distance migrants from northern Siberia. To the Chinese, they symbolize the essence of natural beauty. The Poyang Lake Nature Reserve offers winter refuge to more than a quarter of a million birds from more than 100 species, creating one of southern China's finest wildlife experiences.

 

 

The last birds to arrive at Poyang are those which have made the longest journey to get here, all the way from the Arctic coast of Siberia. The Siberian crane, known in China as the white crane, is seen as a symbol of good luck. Each year, almost the entire world population of these critically endangered birds make a 9,000-kilometer roundtrip to spend the winter at Poyang. Like the white cranes, many of south China's unique animals face pressure from exploitation and competition with people over space and resources. But if China has living proof of anything, it is that wildlife is surprisingly resilient.