Editor's note: As protection of the planet's flora, fauna and resources becomes increasingly important, China Daily is publishing a series of stories to illustrate the country's commitment to safeguarding the natural world.

Long before the first commuters hit the streets of Beijing or the sun touches the skyscrapers of Shenzhen, small teams of three to four people move silently through the outskirts of Chinese cities. They carry binoculars, notebooks and a singular, rigorous mission. They aren't just hobbyists; they are the front line of a scientific effort to answer a deceptively simple question: Is China getting louder or quieter?

"While it appears that our urban environments are improving and more birds are inhabiting our cities, we lack the scientific evidence to support any definitive conclusions," said Que Pinjia, an ornithologist with the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan province.

Que is one of the two primary initiators of the China Breeding Bird Survey, a standardized monitoring network launched in 2025. For decades, bird surveys in China were largely confined to isolated nature reserves or conducted by small, academic teams. The CBBS changes the "topography" of research by turning the city itself — and its residents — into a living laboratory. Alongside co-initiator Professor Liu Yang of Sun Yat-sen University's School of Life Sciences, Que is attempting to build a "geologic pulse" of the nation's avian health from the ground up.