Huzhong Town, located in the Huzhong District of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, is known as the "coldest town of China" with an annual average temperature of -4.3 degrees Celsius. As the temperature is rising, about 400 mallards have traveled back from the south to their breeding grounds in the northeast of the country.

Mallard is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout temperate and subtropical zones. It is considered as the ancestor of domestic ducks. A male mallard can be distinguished by shiny greenish feathers covering its head and neck. The duck is under state class II protection in China.

Thanks to the outstanding environment of Huzhong, every year large flocks of migratory birds, including mallards, return from the south to their breeding grounds in the town.

(Cover image via VCG)

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