Hejing County, Bayingol Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China – Recent
1. Various of swans flying around lake on grassland
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Wang Baoyin, tourist:
"It's my first time to come to the Bayanbulak Grassland and also the first time to see the beauty of the swan lake. The swans are really beautiful, and also the environment."
3. Various of swans in lake

Swans in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have started their migration to warmer areas in southern parts of the country for the upcoming winter.

At Xinjiang's Bayanbulak Swan Lake, one of China's largest nature reserves for swans, tens of thousands of swans have been migrating to the south since the beginning of this month.

"It's my first time to come to this Bayanbulak Grassland and also the first time to see the beauty of the swan lake. The swans are really beautiful, and also the environment," said Wang Baoyin, a tourist.

The number of wild swans spending summer in the reserve has risen to more than 12,000 after China stepped up protection measures in the area.

In 2013, China invested 15.3 million yuan to improve facilities of the reserve, installing 49 video monitoring systems and setting up observation points around the over-130,000-hectare wetland and lake in the reserve.