New modes of construction and energy sources, such as biogas, will be required if Yunnan's forests are to be replenished and protected. American non-governmental organizations such as the Ford Foundation, the World Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy have been working with Yunnan scientists and governmental organizations to address these issues and to develop stronger conservation plans. The challenge for all domestic and international environmentalists working in China is to continue improving living standards for China's 1.3 billion people while at the same time developing a plan to protect its extraordinarily rich culture and environment. Hundreds of years ago this meadow, at an altitude of 9,000 feet, was only visited when Naxi lovers who were being forced into traditional marriages escaped for a few days of happiness, and then, group suicide. Today an Italian-made ski lift transports tourists by the hundreds to this once sacred site.
Horses are available for the more adventurous.
Many new efforts at environmental protection are quite visible here, and, unlike many Chinese tourist sites, little trash is seen. But visibly and publicly adorning the heads of the Tibetan and Naxi guides and dancers who make their living entertaining the tourists are the whole pelts of the endangered Red Panda, recently purchased at a furrier in nearby Lijiang. Notwithstanding the cultural, political, economic and scientific challenges, the progress that is being made in China's Yunnan Province should encourage us all.