Stubborn monkeys pose village dilemma

Villagers in Sichuan province who lured wild monkeys down a mountain 13 years ago to attract tourists and alleviate poverty are now facing a dilemma.

They have to keep driving the monkeys away, because the hungry animals are destroying their crops.

In 2001, when He Youliang, now 57, became Party chief of Xianfeng, which forms part of Taiping township in Panzhihua city and lies at the juncture of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, the village was impoverished and had only a dirt road.