This attraction introduction is compiled from historical materials in the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com · Scenic Spots section). Ticket prices, opening hours, transportation, and contact information mentioned in the text may be outdated. Please refer to the latest official announcements from the scenic area before traveling; some content consists of historical background/cultural introductions and is for reference only.
Since ancient times, birds have generally preferred to inhabit sparsely populated lakes, islands, or primeval forests. In China, Qinghai Lake and Poyang Lake, because their regions are remote, their waters vast, and their natural environments rarely damaged by humans, have become world-famous kingdoms of birds. Yet in the densely populated, flat Jiangnan region, beside a busy downtown with heavy traffic, there is actually a place where more than 100 species and over 100,000 birds concentrate to inhabit and breed. This is extremely rare in ancient and modern times, in China and abroad. This is what is called the world wonder "a paradise for birds among people—Hunan Jiangkou Bird Island."
Jiangkou Bird Island is located in the eastern corner of Hengnan, in the middle of the Leishui River, surrounded by water on all sides. In 1984 it was listed as a national and Hunan provincial nature reserve. It is 50 kilometers from Hengyang City, and can be reached in 20 minutes via the Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway. The bird island covers 35 hectares, of which the land area is 15 hectares, consisting of Chenjiazhou, Longjiazhou, and Zhangjiazhou. On the island there are 51 species of woody plants in 29 families and 124 species of herbaceous plants in 48 families. Ancient trees form shade, the climate is pleasant, and it is a paradise for birds. Birds that inhabit and breed here throughout the year number 181 species in 37 families and 16 orders, totaling more than 100,000. Bird experts from the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, and other countries who have come here successively to investigate and sightsee have praised it highly, saying it is a rare miracle of nature and has great prospects for tourism development. Even with no service facilities at all, tens of thousands of visitors come to Bird Island each year to watch birds and travel.
On the premise of continuously strengthening bird protection, it is planned to build bird-watching platforms, octagonal pavilions, ticket offices, garden paths, bird recordings, and a bird specimen room on both banks of the Leishui River, and to construct a six-story, 2,400-square-meter hotel and tourism support facilities such as pleasure boats, turning Jiangkou Bird Island into an ecological paradise integrating tourism, leisure, and environmental education.
