Amid the tides of Zhanjiang in south China's Guangdong Province, the sprawling mangroves stand as a green fortress against storms.

Decades of dedication by rangers have made these "coastal guardians" more luxuriant than ever.

Their footsteps measure the intertidal zones while documenting each magical moment of migratory birds returning and new species settling, reviving these wetlands through the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development Initiative.

As the UN marks its 80th anniversary, what we see goes beyond China's commitment to the Ramsar Convention. It represents a sustainable development model of human-nature symbiosis. Every sprouting sapling continues writing the harmonious chapter between the "Earth's kidneys" and human civilization.

(All photos via CGTN)

(Cover: Mangrove ecosystems in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, south China, October 2023.)