China races to rescue rare 'smiling angel' of Asia's longest river

Encouraging signs

The 1,012 finless porpoises in the river in 2018 was only a slight drop from 1,040 in 2012, said Wang Ding, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with protection work showing encouraging signs.

Chinese lawmakers have started deliberating on the country's first legislation covering a specific river basin, a draft law on Yangtze River conservation aimed at protecting the ecological environment and facilitating green development.

The central government is also pushing for a 10-year fishing ban in 332 conservation areas along the Yangtze from this year, which will be expanded to the entire river and its main tributaries next year.

Yang Jinlong was once a fisherman in Nanjing. The 45-year-old chose to be a patrolman in an all-volunteer monitoring team consisting of dozens of fish farmers in 2016, when the city closed a large number of fishing-related enterprises along the Yangtze.

Yang gradually came to understand the finless porpoises after years of hard work recording their sightings at the monitoring sites in the protection zone.

"I grew up near the Yangtze and it brings me peace of mind," Yang said. "It doesn't matter that we can't fish, but it matters that the 'smiling angel' keeps smiling."

In recent years, the monitoring team has captured countless precious pictures and footage of the porpoises, providing support for scientific research on the endangered animal.

With increasing environmental awareness, more Chinese people are willing to volunteer to protect the porpoise, Yang said.

"When I see the animal jumping out of the water, I feel fulfilled. It's like everything we've done is worth it," he said.

"And we see changes. Little young finless porpoises can often be spotted now, which indicates the endangered mammal is thriving."