CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Tuesday, June 22, 2021 | 5 CHINA We have PATHWAYS TO PROGRESS liftoff Famous bridge a growing Students launch a rocket propelled by pressurized water attraction for history fans during a science fair in Huaibei, Anhui province, on Sunday. By Huang ZHILING Despite that, Red Army soldiers A two-day competi- in Luding, Sichuan crossed the bridge, suffering only a tion over the weekend [email protected] few deaths among their 22-strong gave students the force. chance to showcase Soon after the national college The Red Army’s crossing of the their abilities to build entrance examination ended on Dadu River was one of the most model rockets and June 8, Hao Jun, an 18-year-old from important events of the Long March ships. Chengdu, Sichuan province, decid- (1934-36), because if it had failed, WAN SHANCHAO / ed to book a bus ticket for Luding the Red Army might have been FOR CHINA DAILY county in the province’s Garze Tibet- wiped out. an autonomous prefecture. In the first five months of this He wanted to refresh himself aft- year, 891,700 people visited Luding, er years of preparation for the exam. more than two and a half times as Luding is far from the madding many as in the same period last year. crowd in Chengdu and features the Tourism earnings surpassed 980 famous Luding Bridge and his million yuan ($153 million), Lu said. favorite red cherries. Since March, the number of tour- His parents readily accepted his ists visiting Luding Bridge has been plan, as Luding is only a two-and-a- rising, with 1,000 to 2,000 people half- to three-hour bus ride away. arriving every day. “Before the opening of the The surge in tourist numbers has Ya’an-Kangding Expressway, it took a lot to do with the opening of the five to six hours to reach Luding Ya’an-Kangding Expressway and from Chengdu,” his mother, Ying the 100th anniversary of the found- Liu, said. “And I would not have ing of the CPC on July 1, because the approved it if he’d had the plan bridge is a reminder of an important Wandering elephants unlikely to then.” moment in history, said Li Yuanjiao, The 135-kilometer Ya’an-Kangding an administrator in charge of the Expressway, which is part of a new bridge. Sichuan-Tibet highway that will For safety reasons, only 80 to 100 extend from Chengdu to Lhasa in people are allowed to stand on the return home soon, experts say Tibet, opened in 2018. structure at the same time, he said. Since then, mountainous Luding All 31 star-rated rural hotels and has witnessed a surge in tourist resorts in Luding are full on week- Plentiful food supply, swollen rivers much, according to the headquar- from the Yunnan Provincial For- numbers. Tourists come to cross ends as visitors can pick red cherries ters. est Fire and Rescue Service and Luding Bridge, dine in rural resorts from trees and eat them for free to discouraging herd from heading south There is an abundance of crops local public security authorities and simply escape the city crowds, their hearts’ content. that elephants like eating on farm- have worked around the clock to according to Lu Chukai, an informa- At this time of year, visitors come By HOU LIQIANG in Yuxi, Yunnan nan, since leaving Kunming six land in the area, and that could be a monitor the animals with the help tion officer with the Luding county to eat cherries, as well as dishes [email protected] days later. A male elephant that factor making them hesitate to of drones and infrared equip- committee of the Communist Party made from chicken, bacon, beans strayed away about two weeks ago return home, Shen said. ment. of China. and edible wild herbs, said Guo A herd of wandering elephants has yet to rejoin the herd. Many areas in the Xishuangban- In an interview with People’s The bridge over the Dadu River Yurong, the middle-aged owner of a that has received global attention Preliminary monitoring suggests na reserve are “too well-protected”, Daily, Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz, a provided a crossing point in history rural resort. may have a prolonged journey back the herd may be attempting to with the forest becoming so dense researcher with the Chinese Acad- that every Chinese pupil has learned As it is the harvest season for red to their traditional habitat due to return to Xishuangbanna, but in some elephant habitats that the emy of Sciences’ Xishuangbanna about. cherries, farmers can be seen in the their current easy access to food determining its likely route will short plants they like to eat struggle Tropical Botanical Garden, not The Red Army’s seizure of the streets of the county seat selling the and swollen rivers that are difficult need further research, said Shen to get the sunshine they need to only commended the performance bridge on May 29, 1935, was a fruit from bamboo baskets, with a for calves to cross, experts said. Qingzhong, the reserve’s chief engi- grow, he said. of governments in escorting the famous incident in a story filled kilogram costing about 20 yuan. After leaving their forest home in neer. On its way back home, the herd, herd while ensuring people’s safe- with heroes. The bridge’s planks had Song Xiaojun, Party secretary of the Xishuangbanna National Natu- With over three decades of expe- which includes two calves, will also ty, but also the country’s achieve- been removed by Kuomintang Luding, said that development of ral Reserve in Southwest China’s rience in research on Asian ele- encounter many difficulties cross- ment in protecting the endangered troops on the river’s east bank to cut tourism triggered by improved Yunnan province last year, the herd phants, Shen has been working ing rivers swollen by the ongoing species. off the troops of the Red Army, a pre- roads contributed to Luding becom- traveled about 500 kilometers with the headquarters in charge of monsoon, Shen said. An expert on elephants, he said it decessor of the People’s Liberation ing the first place in the prefecture northward before reaching Kun- monitoring the herd since May 27. “We are prepared that they will would not have been easy to pre- Army, leaving just 13 iron chains in to be removed from a national list of ming, the provincial capital, on From 6 pm Thursday to 6 am Fri- stay for an extended period of vent them causing casualties while place. poverty-stricken counties. June 2. day, the herd moved about 3 km to time,” he said. traveling through so many densely The group, currently comprising the southwest — toward their Chen Mingyong, a science pro- populated areas. Chengdu-Ya’an and Chengdu 14 elephants, has been hanging former habitat. However, in the fol- fessor at Yunnan University who Compared with some other Ya’an-Kangding around the city of Yuxi, also in Yun- lowing 24 hours they didn’t move has been working with Shen at the nations that also do well in avoid- headquarters, said he expects the ing human-elephant conflicts, the expressways herd will return home in winter. habitats for elephants in China are He said the headquarters is mak- more developed and are home to ing great efforts to guide the herd to more people, which poses greater Kangding move southward to more suitable challenges in protecting the ani- Ya’an habitats. mals, he said. To Tibet China’s Asian elephants, primari- Despite the challenges, China ly found in Yunnan, are under has seen its Asian elephant popula- Luding A-level State protection. Thanks to tion grow, while those in most other CHINA DAILY enhanced protection efforts, the Asian countries where they are wild elephant population in the found are shrinking, he said. province has grown to about 300, “So I think that if we can learn up from 193 in the 1980s. from this situation … we will be Panda lovers find paradise For over a month, authorities able to implement similar solutions have sent police to escort the herd, in other countries that will be evacuated roads to facilitate its pas- developing very rapidly in a few on expressway to Ya’an sage, and used food to distract the years,” he said. elephants from entering densely Campos-Arceiz said he expects By HUANG ZHILING populated areas. China will play a leading role in in Ya’an, Sichuan In their efforts to send early developing “a new model of con- The elephant herd wanders on a mountain ridge, looking for food, warnings to residents in villages serving elephants in the 21st century Although it is more comfortable to in Yuxi, Yunnan province, on Sunday. ZHOU XIN / FOR CHINA DAILY the herd approaches, monitors in highly developed environments”. take a bullet train to Ya’an, Sichuan province, Qi Meng, a panda fan in Chengdu, the provincial capital, likes driving to the famous city to take panda photos. Survey highlights public interest in biodiversity It was through Ya’an that the Western world learned about the By YANG WANLI trates the concept of biodiversity growth in recent years. giant panda in 1690 after the French [email protected] with detailed examples in peo- By the end of last year, the total missionary Jean Pierre Armand A tollgate on the Chengdu-Ya’an ple’s daily lives is necessary,” said giant panda population was David mailed a panda specimen to Expressway decorated with Biodiversity is a concept that More education that Lu Lunyan, executive officer of 1,864.