55-meter tower built in Mt. Ailao for botanists

A giant tower crane has been erected in the Ailao Mountain nature reserve in Jingdong Yi autonomous county, Southwest Yunnan’s Pu’er city. It is not built for infrastructure construction, but for scientific observations and collecting plant samples.

Completed and put into use in 2015, the 55-meter tower has 9 platforms, with its boom extending for 60 meters. It is surrounded by a sample-collection area covering 1.44 hectares.

The platform has allowed botanists to research on forest canopies and ecosystems. Seen on the tower, the forest of Mt. Ailao presents a different scene.

Reporting by Li Hanyong; Photos by Liu Xuantong (Yunnan Daily app); Trans-editing by Mo Yingyi