On April 8, the 33rd Session of the Standing Committee of the 15th Wuhan Municipal People’s Congress voted to officially designate the Yangtze finless porpoise as Wuhan’s city mascot. Wuhan has become the first city in China to grant this status to the finless porpoise through a formal local legislative decision.
The Yangtze finless porpoise is a unique freshwater dolphin species endemic to the Yangtze River and a first-class nationally protected wild animal in China. Known as the “Smiling Angel” for its gentle, smiling appearance, it is deeply loved by people in Wuhan. According to an official from the municipal legislature, the increasing sightings of finless porpoises in the Wuhan section of the Yangtze are the most vivid sign of the city’s progress in protecting the Yangtze River and enforcing the 10-year fishing ban.
In recent years, Wuhan has achieved remarkable results in combining porpoise protection with urban development. Stable groups of finless porpoises now live regularly in the Yangtze near Wuhan. The Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has built the world’s first sperm bank for the species in Wuhan and successfully bred the second generation of finless porpoises through artificial reproduction. Programs such as “National Porpoise Care Month” and “Digital Finless Porpoise” have become popular city brands. The porpoise has also been featured at major events including the Two Sessions, the International Wetland Conference, and Wuhan’s promotion event in Paris, gaining over 100 million views online and becoming Wuhan’s iconic ecological symbol to the world.
