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NARRATOR:FromtheeasternendoftheGreatWall,China'scoastspans14,500kilometresandmorethan5,000yearsofhistory.ThisistheareawhichshowsthegreatestcontrastbetweenChina'spastanditsfuture.TodayChina'seasternseaboardishometo700millionpeople,packedintosomeofthemostdazzlinghi-techcitiesonearth.Yetthesecrowdedshoresremainhugelyimportantforawealthofwildlife.Now,asancienttraditionsminglewithnewaspirations,isthereanyroomatallforwildlifeonChina'scrowdedshores?InnorthernChina'sZhalongNatureReserve,apairofred-crownedcraneshavestakedouttheirnestingterritoryinthestubbleofacommerciallymanagedreedbed.Forcenturies,craneshavebeenreveredinChinaassymbolsoflongevity.TheirstatueswereplacednexttotheEmperor'sthrone.Thecraneshavecausetocelebrate.Thischickisasignofhopeindifficulttimes.Red-crownedcranesareoneoftheworld'smostendangeredspecies.Overthelastcentury,Chinahaslostnearlyhalfofitscoastalwetlandsandmostofwhatremainsismanagedforthebenefitofpeople,notwildlife.Afewmonthsfromnow,thischickanditsparentswillfacealongmigrationsouthtoescapetheharshnorthernwinter.Theirroutewilltakethemalongacoastwhichhasbeengreatlyaffectedbyhumanactivity.Alongtheirjourney,thecraneswillbejoinedbymanythousandsofothermigratingbirds.AllheadingsouthacrosstheBohaiGulfandalongtheshoresoftheYellowandEastChinaSeas,someevenreachingasfarastheSouthChinaSeainsearchofasafewinterhaven.Theannualbirdmigrationhasbeengoingonforthousandsofyears.HereatMountJinpingonChina'snortheastcoast,thereissurprisingevidencethatpeoplehavelivedherealmostaslong.Seventhousandyearsago,membersoftheShaoHaotribecarvedmagicalsymbolsrepresentingsignificantelementsoftheirdailylives.Thepetroglyphsshowwheatsheavesconnectedbylinestohumanfigures,thefirstknownrecordingsofcultivationinChina.Familiarwiththespectacleofyearlybirdmigrations,theShaoHaopeoplechoseasymbolofabirdastheirtotem.MountJinpingliesneartheShandongpeninsula,animportantwinteringsiteformigrantbirds,andeventodaytherearestillcommunitiesalongthiscoastlinewhoretainaspecialaffinitywiththeirlocalbirdlife.YandunJiaovillage,onthenorth-easternshoreofthepeninsula,isfamousforitstraditionalseaweed-thatchedcottages.Onachillymorninginearlyspring,MrandMrsQuventureoutatfirstlightarmedwiththetraditionalseasideaccessoriesofbucketandspade.AstheQusheaddownintotheharbour,aflockofwhooperswans,knownaffectionatelyhereaswinterangels,arewakingoutinthebay.TheQusandtheirneighbourssearchfortubeholesinthemudatlowtide,thesignofcocklesandrazorshellshiddendeepbelow.Whilegatheringshellfishisapopularpastime,themainbusinessofYandunJiaohappensfurtheroutatsea.Astheboatssetout,withMrQuonboard,theswanssetaparallelcourse.Thewholeofthebayisagiganticseaweedfarm.Themenworkalldaycleaningandtendingthekelpfrondsthataregrownonropeslinkedtoavastarmadaofbuoys.Theswanseatnativeseaweedsgrowingonthesurfaceropesratherthanthevaluablecropofkelp,sotheydonoharmtothecommercialoperation.Intheafternoon,asthewindpicksupoutatsea,theworkersandswansreturntoshore.WhilethecultureofseekingbalancewithnaturegoesbackalongwayinChina,itisraretoseesuchharmoniousrelationshipsonChina'scrowdedcoast.Aseveningdrawson,theQufamilypreparetheireveningmealofcockles,steamedbreadandseaweed.(KIDSCHATTERING)Leftoversaregiventothevillagechildrentofeedtheswans.It'sfunforthekidsandprovidesanextraenergyboostforthebirdsastheyfaceanothercoldnight.Theswanshavebeenusingthisshelteredbayatasawinterrefugeformanygenerations.Aslongasthetraditionofrespectfornaturepersists,thisremarkableassociationbetweentheYandunJiaocommunityandtheirwinterangelslookssettocontinue.OutintheBohaiGulf,northeastoftheswanvillage,asmallrockyislandprovidesaquietrestingspotformigratingbirds.ButShedaoIslandhashiddendangers.Pallas'pitviperstrappedhere6,000yearsagobyrisingsealevelshaveevolvedasinisterlifestyle.For10monthsoftheyearthereisnothingsubstantialtoeatontheisland,sothereptilesconservetheirenergybybarelymovingatall.(BIRDSCAWING)Asthesunwarmstheirrockyhome,thesnakesclimbupintothebushesandtrees.Buttheyaren'theretosunbathe.Moreandmorevipersappearuntilvirtuallyeveryperchwhereabirdmightlandhasbeenbooby-trapped.Thenthewaitinggamebegins.Theserpents'camouflageisremarkable,butsoarethebirds'reactions,asthishigh-speedshotreveals.Thebirdswillonlystayontheislandforacoupleofweeks.Butalthoughthesnakeshavebeenstarvingformonths,theironlyhopeofbaggingamealistobepatientandsittight.Theslightestmiscalculationandthesnakeisleftwithamouthfuloffeathers.Thedroppedmealistrackeddownmainlybysmell,theviperusingitsforkedtonguetotastetheairuntilitiscloseenoughtoseeitsquarry.Thefinalchallengeistoswallowamealthat'stwicethesizeofitshead.Itdoessobydislocatingitsjawsandpositioningitspreysothebeakispointingbackwards.Forthereptiles,thistimeofplentyisalltoobrief.Inacoupleofweeks,themigrationwillbeoverandthebirdswillhavemovedon.Thiscouldbethesnake'slastmealforsixmonths.Butitisn'tjustislandsthatexperiencecyclesoffeastandfamine.Thesea,too,hasitsseasons,afactwellknowntofishingcommunitiesalongtheneighbouringcoasts.InChuwangharbour,thestartofanewfishingseasonprovidestheexcuseforamassiveparty.ButforboatownerMrZhao