In late spring, two clear streams slowly flow under the huge earth and stone sub dam on the right bank of the Three Gorges Project. Wu Jinhua led the reporter across the Manshui Bridge and arrived at a nursery where various flowers, plants, and trees were lush and pleasing to the eye, as if they were in a "kingdom of plants". This is the Yichang Base of the Yangtze River Biodiversity Research Center of China Three Gorges Corporation, where a large number of rare and endemic plants from the Three Gorges region are protected and bred. Do those white leaves on the tree look like little white doves Looking up from the direction of Wu Jinhua's fingers, on a four to five meter tall Gongtong sapling, the emerald green new leaves are interspersed with pale white leaves, and the white leaves wrap around purple balls. A gentle breeze blows by, and the white leaves sway lightly. This is a first-class rare and protected plant species unique to China, Gongtong, which grows in the deep mountains of the Yangtze River Basin. It is a rare surviving relic plant from the glacial period and is known as a "living fossil". In late spring and early summer, the Chinese parasol tree blooms, resembling a white dove spreading its wings and flying. Western botanists call it the "Chinese Pigeon Tree". The white ones are actually bracts, and the purple little ball in the middle is the real flower of the paulownia tree Wu Jinhua said. The Three Gorges region of the Yangtze River is known as the "green treasure trove" and "species gene bank". The base is adjacent to the Three Gorges Dam, with an area of nearly 1 million square meters. In this modern botanical garden, people can not only see the magnificent scenery of "high gorge emerging from flat lake", but also receive science education. Wu Jinhua is a senior engineer at the Yangtze River Biodiversity Research Center of Three Gorges Group and the head of the Yichang Base. The paulownia tree seedlings in front of us are the second generation of species propagated by the center. They have bloomed and borne fruit again this year, further verifying the success of the relocation protection of paulownia trees. In recent years, tens of thousands of saplings have been bred. Before the construction of the Three Gorges Project, the Chinese government issued the "Environmental Impact Assessment Report of the Three Gorges Water Conservancy Hub on the Yangtze River", proposing to protect the affected rare species of the Yangtze River, including paulownia trees, sparse flowered water cypress branches, and Fengdu Cheqian. Biodiversity conservation has been within the scope of consideration for the construction of the Three Gorges Project from the beginning, and ecological protection work has been carried out before the project starts Huang Guiyun, Deputy Director of the Yangtze River Biodiversity Research Center of Three Gorges Group, said. The mother of Gongtong tree in Yichang base was originally relocated from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River for protection, and Huang Guiyun still vividly remembers the experience of searching for it. In 2007, during a field investigation of the Yangtze River, five precious Gongtong trees were discovered on a landslide at an altitude of over 1000 meters upstream. They must be relocated for protection in such an environment. Huang Guiyun has been engaged in plant protection and research for nearly 30 years, witnessing the synchronous development and ecological protection of the Three Gorges Project and the cascade hydropower stations in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Over the years, Huang Guiyun and his team of researchers have ventured deep into the steep mountains on both sides of the Yangtze River to rescue and protect rare plant resources. Currently, there are 2080 species and 31000 mother plants. Researchers also used molecular genetic technology to explore the "life code" of rare plants, initially establishing a plant microbiome gene bank, overcoming the breeding difficulties of nearly a hundred rare resource plants, and breeding more than 300000 seedlings. As of now, all the plants mentioned in the environmental impact assessment report that may be affected by the Three Gorges Project have been effectively protected, and none have become extinct Huang Guiyun said, "Our conservation work has extended from the Three Gorges to the Jinsha River, and a rare botanical garden has been built at the Xiangjiaba Hydropower Station in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, creating the largest and most diverse conservation base for rare plants unique to the Yangtze River Basin in China." In order to provide a safe "home" for the green seeds of the Yangtze River, Three Gorges Group has invested nearly 600 million yuan, and the conservation work is still ongoing. At present, the research center has returned more than 61000 rare plants bred to both sides of the Yangtze River for ecological restoration. The ultimate goal is to allow these species to return to the Yangtze River, replenish their wild populations, and play a role in the ecological restoration of the Yangtze River conservation Since 2020, Li Linbao, a researcher at the center, has been conducting experiments on the return of the rare Three Gorges plant, Spartina alterniflora, to the Yangtze River at Yanzhi Dam in Yichang. Currently, the survival rate exceeds 90%. Shuhua Water Cypress Branch is a 'diving expert'. It goes dormant during the summer flood season, and when the water level drops during the autumn and winter dry season, it 'awakens' again. It mainly grows in the intertidal zone along the Three Gorges Dam, where the water level is between 70 and 155 meters. It can consolidate soil and protect the bank, and plays an important role in the ecological protection of the Three Gorges Reservoir area's subsidence zone Li Linbao said. Not long ago, Li Linbao and his colleagues once again planted over 4000 rare plants, including six species of sparse flowered water cypress branches, Fengdu Plantago, and Qiuhua Willow, which they had independently bred, on a small island in the river center of the Tongzhuang River in the Three Gorges Reservoir area, allowing them to return to nature. The Yangtze River Biodiversity Research Center also selected Fengdu Plantago seeds for space breeding aboard the Shenzhou-13 manned spacecraft. Thousands of seedlings from this batch of "selected seeds" returned to the wild twice in March 2024 and March 2025. The return of rare plants to nature is a systematic project, and we will continue to monitor and study them to gradually adapt to nature and reproduce Huang Guiyun said. (New Society)