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Less Farmland, More Forest for South China Tigers
In Yihuang County of east China' s Jiangxi Province, which has long been a habitat for the now endangered south China tigers, more farmers have given up their farmland for tree planting in an effort to improve the ecological environment and help the beasts survive.
Some 6,600 rural households from more than 130 villages are involved in an ambitious plan this year to return some 2,000 hectares of farmland to forest and plant 2,000 hectares of trees in mountains.
In July 1999, traces of the almost extinct south China tiger were found in Yihuang. Investigations show that at least five south China tigers are living in the wild in the county.
Sightings of south China tigers have made the remote Yihuang County known to the world. Chinese and foreign zoologists have rushed to the county to do site surveys, and the name of the county has appeared in newspapers worldwide.
The rare species have triggered a booming economy in the once poor mountainous county, represented by the "south China tiger" brand, a newly registered trademark used exclusively on Yihuang's products.
More than 50 south China tigers are living in Chinese zoos, and thanks to environmental protection efforts throughout the country in recent years, other provinces including Hunan, Zhejiang and Guizhou as well as the Chongqing municipality have all reported sightings of the beast in the wild.
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