Liyuan village and its way to eco-sustainability
In Eryuan County in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, there is a scenic village surrounded by waters and trees known as Liyuan Village. Sitting next to the Cibi Lake, it is home to more than 7,000 ancient pear trees, each with an age of some 500 years old.
Thanks to a number of measures being taken to better the local environment in recent years such as ban on fish farming and wetland restoration, the water in the lake has become clearer than ever.
With more tourists being lured to this place by its ecological beauty, the income of each household in the village has also seen a considerable rise.
The Liyuan Village lies in Eryuan County, West Yunnan’s Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture. Adjacent to the Cibi Lake, it is particularly famous for a total of over 7,000 five-century-old pear trees that erect on the lakeside.
Every year when pear flowers blossom, an utterly mesmerizing scenery in which tens of thousands of snow-white petals flutter in the air can always be appreciated.
“The infrastructures built by the government have played a key role in the ecological restoration of Cibi Lake, and our awareness of environmental protection has been strengthened,” says Zhao qiangan, a villager at his 80s, when referring to the changes around the lake over the past few years.
Afuzhong is the head of Liyuan village Tourist Association. For years, he has been advocating eco-tourism and giving out relevant leaflets to other villagers in Liyuan.
In the meantime, Afuzhong has spent much of his time studying the environment where he lives in, especially those indigenous plant species around.
Over a decade ago, when he saw a plant known as Cibi flower (Nymphaea tetragona Georgi) among local villagers fading slowly out of sight, he began to think how he could rescue this endangered species.
To this end, he has read piles of books and research papers, consulted several experienced villagers, and even started to grow Cibi flowers himself at home ever since.
After years of experimentation, Azhongfu finally succeeds at his flower cultivation. By leasing fish ponds from other villagers, he now has over 100,000 flowers growing by the lake.
To better protect the Cibi Lake as well as Liyuan Village, the area near the lake has been demarcated as core space of water ecological protection zone and ecology planting isolation zone. And the government has taken further measures to ameliorate water quality while prohibiting illegal fishing, picnic and other inappropriate behaviors.
Besides, in March 2017, a massive sewage treatment project was launched by the village with a total investment of 14.8 million yuan. This project has a clear goal which is to prevent direct discharge of untreated sewage into the lake.
As a result, a sustainable development model which benefits both the everyday life of villagers and eco-tourism is on its way to be achieved.
Today, thanks to a series of measures being taken to better the local environment in recent years such as ban on fish farming and wetland restoration, the water in the lake has become clearer than ever.
With more tourists being lured to this place by its ecological beauty, the income of each household in the village has also seen a considerable rise.
Writing by Wang Chao; trans-editing by Wang Jingzhong; photographs by Wang Chao (Yunnan Daily)