China has set up a crane culture society in Qiqihar, a city in its northernmost Heilongjiang province that is major habitat of red-crowned cranes, one of the world's most endangered species.

The crane culture society would carry out in-depth research on China's crane culture, protect wetlands that are major habitat of red-crowned cranes, and promote harmony between man and nature, said Ma Jianzhang, president of the society and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, at Monday's inauguration.

Red-crowned cranes are reputed as "celestial" birds in Chinese and have been revered and loved by Chinese writers and artists since ancient times for their elegance.

The world has less than 2,500 red-crowned cranes living in the wild, more than 1,500 of which are in wetlands at Zhalong Nature Reserve in Qiqihar city.

Worldwide scientists are working to preserve global wetland resources because researches have found that shrinkage and pollution of wetlands, which are known as "kidneys of the earth", can reduce the population of red-crowned cranes as well as other aquatic animals and plants.

China currently has approximately 38 million hectares of major wetlands, including 36 million hectares of natural wetlands, which accounts for 10 percent of the world's wetland resources.
 
(Xinhua News Agency September 1, 2004)