Mountain pilot aims to hit the heights

As one of three pilot national parks in Yunnan province, Laojun Mountain National Park focuses on striking a balance between rational construction planning and ecological protection. As one of the protection measures, the park's management bureau has introduced NGOs to develop local economies and reduce the need for illegal logging and hunting in the forests.

However, an overlap between government bodies has impeded the establishment of unified regulations to act as guidelines for the founding of a national park system, a move that was given the green light at the Communist Party's Third Plenary Session in November.

In February 2009, the Yunnan government approved the establishment of Laojun Mountain which covers 72 hectares across five townships in Yulong Naxi autonomous county in the city of Lijiang.