There is a mountain col in the depths of the dense forest in Yuhe Town, Wudu District, Longnan City, Gansu Province, surrounded by cliffs on three sides, and the stream flows artesian in the middle. Dressed in green overalls, Yang Zhonglu, 56, carries a bag of carrots in his left hand and a pot of corn kernels in his right hand, making a monkey-like sound in his mouth. Suddenly, there was a commotion between the cliffs in front of me, and a group of golden snub-nosed monkeys roared in.
This is a male Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey photographed in the Yuhe Park in the Gansu area of the Giant Panda National Park. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lang Bingbing
Not far away, wildlife conservation experts observe the monkeys' habits, while photographers and tourists from all over the world keep pressing the shutter to record the beauty of this rare group of "national treasures".
This is a scene in the Yuhe Park in the Gansu area of the Giant Panda National Park. It is located at the intersection of the Qinling Mountains and the Minshan Mountains, with a vegetation coverage rate of more than 90%, and rare and endangered wild animals such as Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys, giant pandas, takins and rare and endangered wild plants such as dove trees inhabit and grow here, enjoying the reputation of "biological community" and "ecological oxygen bar".
Yang Zhonglu's house is located at the foot of this nature reserve. Since he was in his 20s, he has often assisted relevant departments to carry out surveys of animal and plant resources in the hinterland of the reserve. Since then, Yang Zhonglu has become a forest ranger, engaged in daily patrol and wildlife protection work. Yang Zhonglu said that when patrolling, he set off from his home at 4 a.m. and walked through the dense forest on foot, tracking the traces of the golden monkeys and observing and recording their living habits.
Yang Zhonglu interacts with the Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey in the Yuhe Park in the Gansu area of the Giant Panda National Park. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lang Bingbing
In 2017, out of scientific research needs, the reserve guided a group of Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys to live in the lower mid-levels. In order to take care of this group of "scientific research objects", Yang Zhonglu and seven other villagers set up eight simple tents around this mountain col to guard them around the clock.
Wang Chengliang, an associate researcher at the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Zoology, was one of the first experts to study the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey in Yuhe, saying: "The Sichuan snub-nosed monkey is mainly distributed in Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi and Hubei. As a species group in the north-south climate transition zone, the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey in Yuhe, Gansu Province has both southern and northern characteristics, which is of great significance for the study of the diversity of the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey population. In recent years, Wang Chengliang's team has been cooperating with the local community to actively prepare for the construction of the West Qinling Field Research Base for the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey in Yuhechuan, Gansu Province.
This is a golden snub-nosed monkey photographed in the Yuhe Park in the Gansu area of the Giant Panda National Park. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lang Bingbing
As the golden monkeys continue to enter everyone's sight, the ecological tourism route of "going to Yuhe to see the golden monkeys" has inadvertently become popular. Tao Rui, deputy mayor of Yuhe Town, said that more and more wildlife photographers, popular science research teams and tourists are vying to enter Yuhe to visit this group of "mountain elves", accelerate the formation of tourism formats of homestays and farmhouses under the mountain, and broaden the channels for people in mountain towns to increase their income and get rich.
Bai Yongxing, director of the monitoring center of Yuhe Park in the Gansu area of the Giant Panda National Park, said that in recent years, relying on the "umbrella effect" of the Giant Panda National Park, the ecological environment in the protected area has continued to improve, and the population of associated rare wild animals such as the Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey has been increasing. Monitoring shows that there are currently 13 groups of Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys in the park, with about 1,100 individuals. (Reporter Lang Bingbing)