A gorgeous view of the Sanjiangyuan National Park in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Perfecture, northwest China's Qinghai Province. [Photo by Chen Xiaojie]

The Sanjiangyuan National Park, located in the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau which is dubbed "Earth's third pole," is one of the first five pilot national parks in China. Known as the "water tower of China," Sanjiangyuan, meaning "source of three rivers" in Chinese, is home to the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers and is a treasure trove of biodiversity. Due to its high altitude and low temperatures, the ecology here is severely vulnerable.

As Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out during an inspection tour of the northwestern plateau province of Qinghai in June 2021, "Ecology is resource, wealth and treasure."

Nowadays, as the notion of environmental protection becomes more deeply embedded in people's minds, an increasing number of people are paying attention to the conservation of the Sanjiangyuan area and are eager to contribute. There is a group of young individuals who have put down roots here to save wild animals, restore plateau meadows and monitor and record ecological changes, promoting harmonious coexistence between man and nature. Lately, I joined a group of reporters to document their story.