Calligrapher WAN Jun and IHB’s deputy director XIE Shouqi present their calligraphy works on the theme of "Great Protection of Yangtze River". (Credit: IHB)

The Yangtze Finless Porpoise Awareness Month is celebrated every June in order to raise public awareness about this endangered species. The campaign was organized by the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan Baiji Conservation Foundation (WBCF), and National Institute of Cultural Development at Wuhan University.    

On set of the event, a video of Yangtze finless porpoise that have been spotted in the Wuhan river section of the Yangtze since this year was projected. DENG Xiaojun, program specialist of the WBCF, presented to attendees the status and the outlook of the project “Yangtze finless porpoise return to Wuhan”.   

Calligrapher WAN Jun and IHB’s deputy director XIE Shouqi presented their calligraphy works on the theme of "Great Protection of Yangtze River" on site. These works will be exhibited to the public both online and offline during this month.   

World badminton champion LI Yinhui, a native of Hubei, was invited to be the "public image ambassador" of the WBCF. “The spirit of sports will drive me to protect the Yangtze finless porpoise as well as to do everything I can for the ecological protection of the Yangtze. Hopefully, more young people will get involved in the protection of this endangered species,”said Li.   

The event also included a ceremony to honor the young porpoise advocates with certificates and team uniforms.   

"We hope to take this opportunity to further enhance the scientific research and public awareness of Yangtze River ecology and aquatic life protection, extend the protection of Yangtze River aquatic life to a new level, and conserve the finless porpoise and the Yangtze River together," said XIE Shouqi in his address.   

“Yangtze finless porpoise is a flagship species for the conservation of aquatic life in the Yangtze and are first-class protected wildlife in China. To make the Yangtze finless porpoise a national symbol of Yangtze River protection, we will jointly promote building the Yangtze Finless Porpoise Cultural Park and including the ‘China-Wuhan Yangtze Finless Porpoise Bay’in the plan of the ‘Yangtze River National Cultural Park’," said CHEN Bo, executive vice president of National Institute of Cultural Development at Wuhan University.   

WBCF, together with Huawei Cloud, Douyu and Wuhan Cloud, launched the "Digital Yangtze Finless Porpoise" conservation project. Through related apps and websites, the public can adopt their own digital Yangtze finless porpoise online, and watch live streaming of exhibitions featuring the porpoises. This project will explore "online ways" to conserve the Yangtze finless porpoise and the Yangtze River.     

World badminton champion LI Yinhui, a native of Hubei, is invited to be the "public image ambassador" of the WBCF. (Credit: IHB)

The event also include a ceremony to honor the young porpoise advocates with certificates and team uniforms. (Credit: IHB)

WBCF, together with Huawei Cloud, Douyu and Wuhan Cloud, launched the "Digital Yangtze Finless Porpoise" conservation project. (Credit: IHB)

Leaders from the Hubei Bureau of Forestry, Hubei Administration of Sport, Wuhan Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, National Institute of Cultural Development at Wuhan University, IHB and WBCF, jointly launched the Yangtze Finless Porpoise Awareness Month campaign. (Credit: IHB)