Guesthouses around Erhai Lake reopen

Protecting the Erhai Lake has become a priority for the Dali Bai autonomous prefecture in Southwest China's Yunnan province since President Xi Jinping's visit there in January 2015.

In recent years, efforts have been made to transform tourism, more specifically the operation of guesthouses that were loosely regulated and had contributed to the eutrophication of water.

The closing of nearly 2,500 restaurants and guesthouses around the lake for 18 months beginning in April 2017 had caused controversy in the media. However, 1,791 of the venues have since resumed business. Short-term pain is inevitable, but the sector has made progress when exploring alternative ways to develop tourism, says Gao Zhihong, Party secretary of the city of Dali.