Silva Gu's eyes dart back and forth across miles of tall grassland, scouring it for signs of life in the darkness.
He speaks in less than a whisper as we try to find a spot to hide in the fields. Behind us, the vast metropolis of Beijing has yet to wake. As we wait, we hear only our own breath.
And then, as the sky starts to lighten ahead of sunrise, we hear footsteps. The poachers are here.
Slim and stealthy, Silva heads out first. We eventually follow with our cameras.
Slowly, we tread through a line of trees, into a small clearing. We only spot the bird net when it is a few inches from our faces.
