Senior high school students in Shenzhen request to "demolish the Bird's Nest," and the principal's response has gone viral.

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“A reply from a school principal in Shenzhen to a Grade 12 student”

Sparks widespread discussion

A Grade 12 student at the Shenzhen Bao’an Middle School (Group) wrote to the school after being disturbed by campus birdsong during exam preparation, requesting that the school “remove the bird’s nest.”

However, the school Party secretary and principal, Yuan Weixing, did not simply accept the request. Instead, through a public reply letter, he affirmed the poetic quality in the student’s writing and used it to deliver a “life education lesson”:

First, life has its own rhythm. Birdsong reflects the nature of birds seeking mates and responding to their companions. The world will not change the tempo of its operation because of human activities. Learning to coexist with all things is a required lesson in growing up.

Second, interference is also part of the scenery. When you look back on Grade 12 in the future, these birdsongs may become a distinct marker of youth. The resilience of life is developed precisely when you cope with discomfort.

Third, learn to talk with all things. The ecological environment of campus green trees offering shade is precisely why birds choose to roost there. Birdsong is both a disturbance and a component of the campus ecosystem that can be accepted.

At the same time, he made it clear: “Regarding your request to ‘remove the bird’s nest,’ I understand your urgency, but I cannot agree. It’s not because I don’t empathize with how hard you’ve worked—it’s because I want you to understand that the ultimate goal of education is not to make the world adapt to us, but to help us learn how to get along with the world.”

Yuan Weixing also advised the students that they could treat birdsong as nature’s “white noise” or “dusk music,” and learn to adjust and relax during study breaks. He emphasized that while the National College Entrance Examination is an important milestone in life, the ability to cultivate respect for life, understanding of all things, and living with discomfort is the longer-lasting life wealth in the age of artificial intelligence.

Regarding the letter from the Grade 12 student and the principal’s reply, some netizens said that the student’s request is understandable.

Others believe that being accompanied by birdsong is also a unique kind of memory.

To protect birds

A Shenzhen park rejected residents’ suggestions twice

It is worth noting that since this year began, the Shenzhen Municipal Park Management Center has also repeatedly rejected residents’ suggestions.

On February 9, a netizen posted that when strolling at Shenzhen Bay Park in the evening, they found the park’s road lighting insufficient and hoped to install streetlights to make the park brighter. However, the Shenzhen Municipal Park Management Center quickly issued a reply refusing the suggestion.

The Shenzhen Municipal Park Management Center stated that adding too many high-brightness lights would disrupt the natural ecological balance in the Shenzhen Bay area, especially by interfering with migratory birds’ winter roosting and migration timing.

Meanwhile, to meet residents’ needs for nighttime activities, the park still retains basic lighting facilities at major entrances and transportation nodes, to ensure basic passage and safety.

On February 22, a netizen posted that Shenzhen Bay Park should stop playing the “Prohibition of feeding seagulls” broadcast, and cited examples from cities such as Qingdao. They called on Shenzhen to cancel the relevant “prohibition of feeding” measures to create a seagull-friendly urban atmosphere.

On February 25, the Shenzhen Municipal Park Management Center, in its response, explained in detail the underlying reasons for the ban on feeding:

Shenzhen Bay is a “five-star stopover” along the East Asia–Australasia migratory bird flyway. From October to the following May each year, about 100,000 migratory birds roost and overwinter here, covering more than 270 species of birds, including 60 nationally key protected species such as the black-faced spoonbill.

Natural foods in the park’s tidal flats—small fish, mudskippers, fiddler crabs, and others—provide balanced nutrition that migratory birds need for long-distance migration and overwintering. Food high in carbohydrates given by humans, such as bread and steamed buns, would not only lead to nutritional deficiencies and kidney damage in migratory birds, but may also cause them to lose their ability to forage in the wild, disrupting migration patterns.

The prohibition on feeding arbitrarily is consistent with the clearly stated requirements of the “Notice on Effectively Strengthening Bird Protection” issued by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the “Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Park Regulations.” The park’s broadcast reminders and on-site persuasion are both carried out in accordance with the law.

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Source: RedNet