Ceremony of sending Milu to Zhangjiakou city in Hebei province is launched at the Second Beijing (International) Milu Deer Culture Conference. [Photo by Wang Sujuan]

The Beijing Milu Deer Ecology Experimental Center completed the investigation of Zhangjiakou in Hebei province in 2019, and selected it as the new habitat of Milu deer. Plans are to release 70 deer in the Yanghe wetland in Zhangjiakou, the first 24 to be released during this conference.

A US zoologist reintroduced about three-dozen of the animals to China in 1985, with the blessing of the duke's successor.

They were taken to the former imperial hunting grounds, which are now Nanhaizi Milu Park in Beijing's Daxing district, where visitors can encounter the scarce and fascinating deer.

In the 34 years since the return of Milu deer, 520 have been introduced directly to Shishou in Hubei province, Cixi in Zhejiang province, the upper reaches of the Luanhe River in Hebei province and the Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province. To date, 40 ex-situ conservation populations have been established.