Revival program

Long Valley has sustained migratory species with an abundance of plump-eared grains hanging under mature rice straws that stand like gold in the sunlight. Long-legged, Black-winged stilts feed in water flea ponds or fly in graceful arcs across the sky. Seasonal plants and vegetables are abundant, spreading across 25 hectares of wet farmland and fishponds.

"Decades of efforts related to farming have given the place a new look," said Ng Cho-nam, associate professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Hong Kong. He and his team are promoting "farming for conservation" to help diversify the species living in the valley.

The unique enclave in Sheung Shui is a habitat for hundreds of flora and fauna. Between 2005 and 2015, the number of species recorded in the valley rose from 230 to 304, according to the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society. The area is home to more than 57 percent of all the bird species found in the city, and according to plans laid out by the Hong Kong government, Long Valley will become a nature park.