Chongqing - On August 11, a downtown shopping mall atrium in Chongqing's city center became a gallery for ecological conservation innovation. The China-side awards ceremony of the Second "Eagle City" Sino-US Youth Bird-Friendly City Innovation Contest, held by Chongqing Luhai International Communication Organization, drew roughly 100 guests to celebrate 5,510 submissions from more than 10,000 teenagers across 62 schools and 15 organizations in both countries.
The event also features hand-drawing workshops about ecological protection (Photo: Event Organizer)
Unlike typical art competitions, the entries functioned as real-world solutions. Xu Anran from Xinan University Affiliated Middle School developed a WeChat mini-program that uses AI image recognition to identify bird species from a single smartphone photo — a tool that debuted at a United Nations side event in July. Luo Xiying of Chongqing Foreign Languages School designed ultraviolet "BIRD SAFE" window decals, inspired by Morse code, that are visible to birds but nearly invisible to humans. A team from Banan Yucai Experimental Middle School built a solar-powered rainwater recycling station that doubles as a bird bath and drinking fountain.
The cultural entries were equally ambitious. A 17-student collective produced an 8.24-meter scroll pairing 17 native Chongqing bird species with the city's historic gates. Another student used intangible heritage wood-burning techniques to depict the Hongyadong cliffs shared with soaring raptors.
He Linqiao proudly presents her work (Photo: Feng Xiaolou)
At the center of the ceremony stood He Linqiao, a primary school student whose hand-illustrated diary,
The Journal of an Ordinary Buzzard, earned the top prize. The book tells the true story of kk887, a rescued common buzzard that returned to Chongqing after rehabilitation. "There are already too many human perspectives on cities, but we don't understand what birds are thinking," She said. "I wanted to see this city through a bird's eyes — to feel what it feels, so readers can understand how hard migration really is." Her words quieted the atrium as guests traced a 4,000-kilometer journey from Chongqing to Siberia across the diary's pages.
The Chongqing ceremony followed a July 14 awards event in Cupertino, California, where Mayor Kitty Moore told attendees that the contest had already changed her community. "These young people are accomplishing through art what policy alone cannot," she said. Santa Clara County officials presented the Chongqing Luhai International Communication Organization with a certificate recognizing its role in building the bridge.
Since its 2022 launch, the Eagle City initiative has positioned Chongqing — the world's only megacity situated directly on a raptor migration flyway — as an unexpected hub for youth-led biodiversity diplomacy. The program has engaged more than 30,000 young people across 40 countries.
Chen Can, deputy secretary-general of the Chongqing Luhai International Communication Foundation, was introducing the awarded works (Photo: Event Organizer)
Looking ahead, the foundation is already shifting focus southward. Chen Can, deputy secretary-general of the Chongqing Luhai International Communication Foundation, outlined the next frontier to iChongqing: "This year marks the China-Africa People-to-People Exchange Year. Our Eagle City global touring exhibition has been selected for the official program. From August 15 to 24, we will build immersive display spaces in core communities across Kenya and Tanzania, using documentary photography to present Chongqing's role as a critical node on the raptor migration corridor."
