A natural storyteller

"When people know more about a place, they will cherish and protect it," Xia says.

Attenborough also hopes the book will improve people's awareness about protecting the Earth. "We depend on the natural world for every mouthful of food we eat and every lungful of air we breathe," he writes. "It is now up to us to care for the planet and for all the other creatures for whom it is home."

Wang, 45, a bird lover, thinks a good book, just like a good speech, can inspire people. Wang himself often gives lectures introducing birds and plants.

"The essence is not only to provide knowledge, but also to motivate the listener into wanting to learn more, and Life on Earth succeeded in doing just that," Wang says.

He believes that popularization of science relies not on how splendid the story is, but by showing people why they should do something and inspiring them to take action.

Wang is responsible for translating the first four chapters of the book, and one difficulty for him was finding the Chinese names for things mentioned in the book.