China to complete building national park on 'roof of the world'

Park construction at full tilt

According to a meeting of the central authorities held late last month, China aims to build the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau into a national and even international highland in ecological progress.

In the past four years, governments at all levels have invested a total of 780 million yuan in improving the environment and solving various ecological problems in Sanjiangyuan, such as land desertification and grassland damage by marmots, said He Wancheng, director of the park's administration.

Another 940 million yuan has been spent on the construction of roads in a bid to create a patrol road network that could safeguard the region.

"The construction of the park will eventually realize the authenticity and integrity of natural ecosystem protection and leave precious natural assets for future generations," said Liu Tao, deputy governor of Qinghai Province.

Technological innovation has been introduced to the park as well. At the ecological information monitoring center of the park administration, visuals of the construction sites, highways and even migration of Tibetan antelopes in Hoh Xil can be projected on a big screen to alert the staff in case of any emergencies, poaching activities, or violations of regulations.

"Even if it's dark, we are equipped with real-time online monitoring via infrared technology," said Cao Jun, director of the ecological information monitoring center of the park administration. He added that the system is able to retrieve data from more than 900 stations.

The construction of national parks means more systematic and effective protection of biodiversity, said Yang Rui, director of the Institute for National Parks of Tsinghua University in Beijing.

"China is one of the countries with the richest biodiversity and has the conditions and ability to achieve revolutionary changes in biodiversity conservation," Yang said.