This Day, That Year

Item from March 11, 1990, in China Daily: Cui Yongkuan, vice-director of the Beijing Ivory Carving Factory, lines up with ivory artwork in the factory's stockhouse, where a total of 6.4 tons of ivory items are piling up. The figurines there used to sell for between $1,500 and $40,000 each overseas. Cui is resigned to the existence of the big stockpile because of the recently installed international ban on ivory trade.

Chinese authorities have been intensifying their crackdown on the illegal wildlife trade.

The country has pledged to enhance its protection of wildlife species - especially those endangered by threats of poaching and fragmented habitat - such as the giant panda, African elephant and Siberian tiger, according to the Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Import and Export Management Office.