This ancient creature died.
The remaining individuals of its species are currently kept in separate zoos
and Swinhoe's turtle is now reckoned extinct in the wild.
In fact,
most of the 25 types of freshwater turtles in China are now vanishingly rare.
The answer to extinction is protection.
And there is now a growing network of nature reserves throughout southern China.
Of these,
the Tianzi Mountain Reserve at Zhangjiajie
is perhaps the most visited by Chinese nature lovers, who come to marvel at the gravity-defying landscape of soaring sandstone pinnacles.