Protecting the Real-Life Shen Xiaobao — Starting with “Farming”?

In the 2025 Spring Festival blockbuster Ne Zha 2, the leopard spirit Shen Xiaobao captivated audiences with his clever, endearing persona.

Yet in the film he is gravely wounded, his fate uncertain — evoking the real-life plight of the endangered North China leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis). This leopard subspecies, endemic to China, is facing severe survival challenges: habitat fragmentation, poaching and declining prey populations.

To protect the North China leopard, Maomeng — a conservation organisation dedicated to China’s wild felids — has been rooted in the rural communities of Heshun County, Shanxi, for ten years. Over the past two years, the Maomeng team has launched the Baoxiangtian project, practising ecological agriculture in the village without chemical fertilisers or pesticides and without plastic mulch film, exploring an entirely new approach to conservation.

Last year, colleagues at Foodthink enjoyed waxy maize, roasted naked oats and various other grains produced by Baoxiangtian. In this episode of Food Talk, we welcome Hannah, project lead for Baoxiangtian, to explore: what does protecting the North China leopard have to do with farming? How can ecological agriculture protect the North China leopard’s habitat while coexisting with the local community?

As Hannah tells the story, we discover that a single cornfield has become a thread connecting leopard populations, villagers and the urban public. From a mix-up over villagers stealing corn, to wild boar and Siberian roe deer sharing farmland, to providing coal subsidies for villagers to reduce deforestation — this experiment, blending conservation, ecological agriculture and community co-building, is both an example of “Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures” (OECM), and a fresh inspiration for biodiversity conservation in China.

This Episode’s Guests

Hannah

Maomeng’s Baoxiangtian project lead, also known as Er Gou. Weibo @天才少女哈亚纳. Mother of two cats.

Zen

Foodthink editor, a novice nature observer hoping to rediscover “The Sense of Wonder”, and a monthly donor to Maomeng.

Timeline

01:32 What did Maomeng discover when it first came to Heshun, Shanxi, in 2008 to search for the North China leopard?

03:12 What has ecological agriculture to do with wildlife conservation? Why did Maomeng start the Baoxiangtian project?

04:46 In a region of North China home to 170 million people, how do humans and leopards share the same land?

06:44 Is it hard for a conservation organisation to take up ecological agriculture from scratch?

18:00 What do the villagers think of Baoxiangtian? Are they willing to get involved in ecological agriculture?

21:25 From the mix-up over stolen corn to villagers pitching in to help with the harvest — what happened? What kind of experimental ground have the stories between people and animals made of Baoxiangtian?

29:47 Can ecological agriculture balance the tension between conservation and development? How does Maomeng work with villagers to find solutions?

31:50 The villagers’ change of heart began with not killing this snake

38:24 How will the Baoxiangtian project achieve financial sustainability in the future?

50:53 Will we see more Baoxiangtian projects in the future? Can this model be replicated in other regions?

51:44 If you visit Baoxiangtian, can you spot a leopard?

72:49 If we also want to do something for the North China leopard, where do we start?