What does it feel like to share your land with Siberian tigers?

Upon mentioning Siberian tigers, Li Zhixing’s face instantly lights up.

The 64-year-old is the secretary-general of the Hunchun Tianhe Siberian Tiger Protection Society in northeast China's Jilin Province, and an avid lover of the endangered felines.

Jilin is known as the “hometown of the Siberian tigers,” and according to the biological diversity research team in Beijing Normal University, 27 of these tigers were spotted between 2012 and 2014 in the region.

Siberian tigers are one of the world's most endangered species, predominantly living in the northeastern parts of China and far-eastern part of Russia. According to WWF, there are only about 540 Siberian tigers living in the wild.

Li Zhixing, author of the textbook "Love my hometown, love Siberian tigers"

“Residents in Hunchun, in the northeastern region of China should be very proud because it is the hometown of Siberian tigers,” Li said.

Li is also one of the authors of the textbook "Love my hometown, love Siberian tigers", which aims to help children better understand their hometown and its ecological environment.

Primary school students attend a class about ecology.

“It’s crucial to tell people the importance of protecting tigers,”

Li noted.

“Through ecological education, we let everyone know why the Hunchun National Nature Reserve is a protected area,” he noted.

“How could we protect tigers? Why do we need to protect them? We strive to spread knowledge and urge everyone to join us in the effort.”

Li said he feels he should do something for his hometown.

He started writing the textbook in 2008 after he retired. With the help of a local teacher, Zang Yunjuan, the first edition was conceived in 2009.

A year later, the textbook made it the curriculum of a small range of schools.

After a revision in 2015, the book's reach expanded, and today it is widely used in Hunchun’s primary schools as part of ecological education.

“When you devote yourself to something, you want to work harder to make it better. So all these years, I have been revising the textbook to perfect it,” he added.

(CGTN)