SZ Bay Park praised for rejecting call to add more lighting

The Shenzhen Bay Park has recently won unexpected praise online — not for adopting a visitor’s suggestion, but for politely rejecting it.

In a February social media post, a resident said she was caught off guard when an out-of-town relative asked why the park was so dark at night while they were taking an evening stroll. While acknowledging the park’s relaxing atmosphere for walking and cycling, she suggested that additional lighting could improve visibility.

Shenzhen Bay Park. Photo by Lai Li

The Shenzhen Park Management Center responded promptly, explaining that Shenzhen Bay Park lies along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, one of the world’s nine major migratory bird routes, and serves as an important stopover and wintering site for migratory birds. Excessive high-intensity lighting, the center said, could disrupt the ecological balance of Shenzhen Bay and interfere with birds’ wintering habitats and migration patterns.

The center also noted that basic lighting has already been installed at key locations such as main entrances, transport hubs and selected walkways to ensure visitors’ safety and accessibility, while minimizing disturbance to migratory birds.

The response quickly went viral, drawing widespread approval from netizens. Many praised the park’s decision as “considerate toward birds.” One netizen wrote: “Humans are not the only creatures in this world. Since we occupy the park during the day, it seems only fair to leave it to the birds at night."

The commitment to preserving nighttime darkness at Shenzhen Bay reflects the city’s broader efforts to balance urban development with ecological protection. Shenzhen welcomes around 100,000 migratory birds each year between October and April.

Over the decades, the city has taken concrete steps to protect their habitats. In 1994, Shenzhen shifted the planned route of Binhai Boulevard more than 200 meters northward to avoid core mangrove areas. In 1999, after the boulevard opened, the city built China’s first bird-protection noise barrier along the boulevard. In 2025, Shenzhen issued the country’s first planning and design guidelines for building a bird-friendly city.