Photo shows oriental white storks at a wetland in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Chen Bo)

33 oriental white storks have recently been spotted at a wetland in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. The birds, either flying or taking a rest, attracted numerous bird-watching enthusiasts. The oriental white stork is under first-class state protection in China and is listed as endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

The birds spend their summer in northeast China, Japan, North Korea, and other places and winter in east and south China. According to Chen Hao, deputy head of the bird watching society of Xiamen, the number of oriental white storks appearing in Xiamen this time set a new record for the greatest amount of birds in recent years.