China successfully saved Shennongjia

An undated photo shows some tourists pose for a picture at "Shennongjia".
Chinanews, Wuhan, July 24 - There is a "must-go" place in China called "Shennongjia", as it is one of the most important gene libraries in the world.
Shennongjia is located in Hubei Province. In the 1970s and 1980s, China had decided to develop the rich timber resource here. In mere ten years, the forest coverage rate in Shennongjia had greatly dropped by 11.6%, causing great ecological crises like flood, landslide, etc. In 1980, Wu Kong, a Chinese-Canadian, wrote a letter to Deng Xiaoping, then vice premier of China, suggesting that China should make Shennongjia a nature reserve through and through. At that time, some pessimistic prediction even went to the effect that Shennongjia would be dead in no more than 5 years.
However, Shennongjia has come out safe and sound. "It will be even better," said Wang Haitao, the Secretary of the Party Committee of the local forestry administration.
China made Shennongjia a nature reserve in 1986, since then, its protection was well on the way. In 1990, UNESCO put Shennongjia in its Man and the Biosphere Project. In 1992, the Global Environmental Facility of the World Bank selected Shennongjia as one of its permanent bio-diversity models in Asia.
Last April, when botanists from all around the world visited Shennongjia, many of them were impressed by its well-preserved bio-diversity, complete ecological system, and well-protected primeval forests.