Endangered species

In April 2016, during an inspection patrol Zheng noticed a large nest under one corner of a tower. He climbed up and found three fledglings in the nest as well as a dangerous loose wire dangling below it. "No one recognized the birds, so we sent photos of them to experts in Wuhan," Zheng said.

The birds were identified as oriental white storks, a migratory species under first-class national protection and listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The species' global population is 9,000, Xinhua News Agency reported in November.

The team sent the birds to the experts in Wuhan for assessment who returned them to the power company workers and suggested they be raised in the wild.

Zheng and his colleagues moved the nest to a safer place on the tower and hand fed the birds eels, loaches and other small fish until they were big enough to fly. Every day for two months, the volunteers climbed the 54-meter tower to nurture the storks until they were able to survive on their own.

Since then, the storks have flown back to the same nest every year to reproduce.

"Maybe they remember the warmth they received from people," Zheng said.

Party secretary Zhan said in June last year, the tower was scheduled to be removed to make way for the construction of an expressway. However, at the time, four stork chicks were in the nest so the company redesigned the plan, which rarely happens, he said.