CHANGCHUN, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Kneeling on the damp earth in Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, Chen Ya'nan, an ecology student from Beijing's Renmin University of China, carefully examined fresh wildlife tracks.

For six intense days, Chen, along with 13 classmates and teachers, immersed themselves not just in the forest, but in China's ambitious vision to save these big cats.

"The national park system shows its unique power in protecting biodiversity," Chen said, surrounded by vast wilderness near the city of Hunchun in northeast China's Jilin Province. "It's clear that policy support and technology are vital pillars. I want to bridge innovation and community action in my future work."

Established in October 2021, this 14,100-square-km wildlife sanctuary, which spans Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, is yielding dramatic results. The park now shelters around 70 wild Siberian tigers and about 80 Amur leopards.

ENGAGING THE NATION

In Heilongjiang's Dongning, a 2,781-square-km section of the park accounting for nearly 20 percent of its total area, technology and human commitment converge.

A dense network of 420 real-time transmission cameras and 236 infrared cameras has documented 136 tiger sightings and 336 leopard sightings since 2021, even identifying five cubs among 12 resident Amur leopards.

For Xu Chunmei, a member of the local women's patrol team, this extensive monitoring represents more than data. It's tangible proof of the profound changes brought by systematic protection mechanisms to these mountains and forests she knows intimately, Xu said.

According to the national park, the umbrella effect of protecting the apex predators also extends to 884 species of higher plants and 397 vertebrate species, ranging from rare sables to endangered Oriental storks. An "animal regulation, plant renewal, soil restoration" cycle is taking root.

Protection, however, is only half the equation. "Since the park's founding, we've actively explored diverse paths for public engagement and nature education," said Chen Xiaocai, head of the park administration's comprehensive office. "We aim to steadily raise national awareness."

This mission pulses through places like the Hunchun Nature Science Pavilion, where visitors, especially summer crowds of children, explore lifelike dioramas and rare animal specimens.

The real draw, however, is technology. An electronic sand table showcases the park's "sky-ground-space integrated monitoring system," a network of infrared cameras, satellites and drones beaming real-time wildlife footage.

"This tech protects animals and warns communities when wildlife nears villages," said a museum docent, Jing Xinyuan.

Wu Yu, a fifth grader from north China's Tianjin Municipality, was captivated. "It's like a monitor for pets, but instead for wild animals! Protecting tigers protects nature," Wu said.

SHARED HABITAT HARMONY

Successful tiger and leopard conservation efforts bring joy, but also produce complex challenges. Over 10,000 residents still live within park boundaries -- navigating the shift from "humans advancing, tigers retreating" to coexistence.

"National parks should be demonstration zones for human-nature harmony," said Xie Yi, a professor at Beijing Forestry University. "Balancing protection and development is critical."

Innovative solutions are emerging. Smart early-warning systems help prevent human-wildlife encounters, while compensating farmers for crop damage now involves revised government policies plus commercial insurance schemes. Most transformative is the economic transition -- residents are moving away from practices such as forest farming and grazing.

Villages now cultivate specialties like fungus, blueberries and black hoof mushrooms. In the case of Changrong Village in Jilin, annual fungus production reaches 3.5 million bags. The "one household, one ranger" policy also provides additional income, having employed 7,874 members of local households as ecological rangers in 2024, up from 7,530 in 2023.

"Protecting the forest and guiding visitors earns me 10,000 yuan (around 1,400 U.S. dollars) yearly," said Zhang Yongjun, 53, one of the rangers. Formerly wary residents are increasingly joining the conservation cause.

"The core of balancing protection and development globally is people-centered," said Hua Ning, director of China Conservation Project, which supports community projects within the park.

As tiger and leopard footprints grow more numerous and local communities find sustainable livelihoods, China's vast experiment in national park-led conservation is demonstrating that saving a species truly takes a nation, said Chen Xiaocai.