Tibetan antelopes gather in Nyima County, Nagqu Prefecture, Xizang Autonomous Region, October 19, 2023. [xzxw.com/ Yao Haiquan]

Recent years, biodiversity on the plateau of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region has gradually improved. From 2016 to 2022, 8.32 million mu (554,666 hectares) of forests were planted in Xizang. It has achieved "double growth" in both forest and grassland vegetation coverage. There are 1,072 terrestrial wild vertebrate species in Xizang, including 65 species of wild animals under national Grade-I protection such as the snow leopard, wild yak, Tibetan antelope, black-necked crane and Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey, and 152 species of wild animals under national Grade-II protection. Xizang has the largest population of large and medium-sized wild animal species in China. According to the second national survey on terrestrial animals and plants, the number of Tibetan antelopes increased from over 70,000 in the 1990s to over 300,000, wild yaks from under 10,000 to over 20,000, and black-necked cranes from under 3,000 to over 10,000.

Tibetan wild donkeys gather in Burang county, Ngari Prefecture, Xizang Autonomous Region, October 10, 2023. [xzxw.com/ Yao Haiquan]

Crowds of black-necked cranes play in the wetlands of Lhunzhub County, Lhasa City, Xizang Autonomous Region, Nov. 4, 2023. [xzxw.com/ Yao Haiquan]