I am doing this not as an abject environmentalist or naturalist. I want people to know that there are many beautiful species in this city which deserve our care

    — Nan Zhaoxu

    Anna Zhao

    anna.whizh@yahoo.com

    NAN ZHAOXU, a publisher and CEO of Yuezhong Culture Transmission Co. Ltd., photographs the rapidly changing wildlife of Shenzhen. His photographs include those of plants, insects, birds and marine life that he has spotted in places not far from the city’s downtown areas. These species were here long before the earliest dwellers in the city, but are seeing a rapid decline in numbers due to human activity.

    Nan has had a Monday column, “Exploring south in Shenzhen,” in the Daily Sunshine since Nov. 5 last year in which he shares the images. He said he wanted to raise awareness of the plight of local wildlife as well as increase people’s appreciation of its beauty and diversity.

    Falling in love with Shenzhen’s nature

    Nan said Shenzhen is endowed with natural beauty. No other mainland city can boast so much mountain and coastal scenery. That is the reason why he was reluctant to move his publishing business to Beijing, where the cultural industry is more developed.

    He said Shenzhen is a good location as the wilderness is within one hour’s drive from the city center. This is in contrast with the other first-tier cities, such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai.

    He came to the city in 1989 and has witnessed the revolutionary change it has undergone. Two books on Shenzhen’s history written by him, The Shenzhen Memory (1949-2009) and Behind the Old Files of Shenzhen, were published in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

    Nan and his friend Deng Kangyan photographed an eight-episode documentary “From 1978 to 2008: Shenzhen 30 Years,” which was based on his first book. It won several national awards.

    In order to research the books and documentaries, he had to travel to different places around the city, including little known parts of the wilderness. Ever since the 1990s, he has made it a habit to travel into the wilderness every weekend.

    Witnessing changes in the landscape

    Nan said he has been recording the changes in the city’s landscape caused by human activity as the population multiplies.

    For example, he said a bird species he first observed in 1995 had not been seen since 2005. The Mangrove forest has halved in size and some primitive forests with palm-sized butterflies and wild orchid were destroyed, by human activity, much of which had been authorized.

    The natural mountainous areas very often have to give way to construction work on recreational parks, housing or highways.

    Reclaiming forests or land from the sea can also destroy the marine biological chain, causing corals and fish to withdraw from the coast.

    Nan said Shenzhen is a stop for birds to perch on the East Asia migratory route, owing to its mild winter weather, thick mangrove forests and abundant fish in its wetland. However, in recent decades, beaches were reclaimed for land and mangrove forests dwindled.

    “We have betrayed the trust of migratory birds,” Nan said. He thinks Hong Kong has set a good example in preserving the integrity of nature. “There is no need to develop the city in an exploitative way. Insects, such as butterflies, which may be inconspicuous to human eyes, are the very barometer of the environment of a city,” Nan said.

    Joy and danger

    Nan has traveled to nearly all the mountains around the city. Wutong Mountain, Maluan Mountain, Tanglang Mountain are the ones he has visited most frequently.

    Nan has formed a nature society with some likeminded people. Their work has attracted the attention of some experts in Guangzhou and Hong Kong, who sometimes give lectures or join their trips.

    Photographing in the wilderness is hard work, Nan said. “You have to rely on yourself, for there is no path for vehicles.”

    Very often, catching a good picture takes luck, especially if you are photographing insects or animals in motion, Nan said.

    Once Nan and his teammates serendipitously came across a flock of milkweed butterfly, the only species of migratory butterfly on an eastern Shenzhen mountain. Nan said it was a spectacular scene, with tens of thousands of butterflies flapping their wings. He said a videotape of the scene can only be seen by members of their group and he refused to disclose the location where they were found for fear that they may be disturbed. “As ordinary people, we feel powerless in the face of ruthless progress.” Nan said.

    He said he has seen too many examples of beautiful places in the city that were turned into commercial parks or luxury housing, to which ordinary people were denied access, such as OCT East.

    There can also be hazards along the way, such as getting lost, being attacked by wild bees or ants, stepping into a trap, dropping from cliffs and even robbery.

    Nan had himself suffered from many accidents.

    In an accident May 2, 2005, he fell from a 5-meter-high reef in Egongwan, a marine bay to the west of Xichong, on a trip to take pictures of a plant in blossom. He suffered serious eye injuries and broke his nose. But that experience didn’t stop him from taking more trips.

    What the future holds

    Nan said he was recording the most diversified wildlife in and around Shenzhen. He thinks Shenzhen should slow down the rate of its expansion and stop exploiting the environment.

    “I am doing this not as an abject environmentalist or naturalist. I want people to know that there are many beautiful species in this city which deserve our care.”

    He said the best way to care for them is to leave them alone. “Nature has the ability to recover on its own. Just see how much Qiniang Mountain has recovered in the 10 years since it was closed for reforestation,” Nan said.