A RECENT dispute over park lighting attracted wide attention in Shenzhen, and the winner was wildlife.

A local resident posted a message on a city online forum to voice concern over the lighting of pathways in Shenzhen Bay Park. The resident felt these pathways were too dark at night and suggested installing more streetlights for safety and aesthetics.

However, the city’s park management center responded with a refusal, explaining that brighter lights would disrupt migratory birds using the wetland as a vital stopover along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Bright lights can disorient birds during night flights and disturb their winter roosting.

Far from sparking complaints, the reply drew widespread praise on social media.

“Shenzhen is friendly to small animals. This is true urban warmth,” one WeChat user wrote. Another commented: “Let the birds rest at night. After all, we all share the same planet.”

According to the latest survey by Shenzhen’s ecological environment department, the city is home to over 450 wild bird species, accounting for one-third of China’s total.

Cai Xiao, a birdwatcher from Shanghai, applauded Shenzhen’s approach, noting that both residents and authorities recognized the risk and were willing to address it.

“Compared to the past, when the focus was solely on increasing lighting to attract visitors, this marks significant progress. For bird enthusiasts like us, it is truly heartening,” Cai added.

In recent years, Shenzhen has embraced biodiversity-inclusive designs. For instance, along coastal Binhai Boulevard, residents and volunteers observed that intense streetlight glare startled passing flocks. Local political advisers and government departments spent two months modifying lamps to balance driver visibility with bird safety.

Beyond lighting, Shenzhen has added patterned stickers to glass buildings to prevent bird collisions and released official guidelines promoting bird-friendly urban planning.

The most striking symbol of this philosophy is the Kunpeng Trail No.1 Bridge. Built to reconnect two mountains separated by an expressway, the footbridge devotes just one-tenth of its deck to humans. The rest, planted with forest-like vegetation, is reserved for small animals such as leopard cats and wild boars. In 2024, weeks after its opening, infrared cameras captured a leopard cat padding across it. Two more such wildlife bridges opened last year. (Xinhua)