Xu Mingcai stands on the shore of a lake, as black-headed gulls flock to him for the food in his hands.

Even when there is nothing in his hands, the birds would also respond to his call, as if they can recognize his voice.

The man from Yinchuan, capital city of Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region, started to feed the wild birds in the winter of 2010, when he found three of the birds at Yange Lake.

When winter approaches, the birds start their long journey to migrate from Lake Baikal in Russia to Dianchi Lake in Southwest China's Yunnan province, with a distance of more than 10,000 kilometers.

A single journey usually takes about two months, and Yinchuan is an important stop along the way.

Eight years ago, there were not many species of birds in urban areas, while recently more than 10,000 individual birds were seen staying there.

It is believed that Xu's feeding efforts greatly contributed to the increase in birds, so that his neighbors from the city's Yangehu community often call him the King of Birds.

Yang Zhanxi and Cai Fenghua contributed to the story.