景区禁游令 (jǐngqū jìnyóulìng): Sightseeing bans of scenic areas

Since April several national scenic areas have stopped admitting visitors, in order to better protect their fragile ecological environments.

Sanjiangyuan National Park has issued a ban on visitors entering the Yellow River source region since May 24. All the institutions and individuals are prohibited from entering the Yellow River source region, including Zhaling Lake and Eling Lake for sightseeing or expeditions. The forbidden area has reached 19,100 square kilometers.

The management of Qinghai Lake Scenic Area temporarily closed areas such as Erlangjian and Bird Island in April. And Nianbaoyuze National Park, which is located in Qinghai province, closed indefinitely the same month.

These scenic areas that issued sightseeing bans are all located in the regions with extremely sensitive ecological environments on the Qinghai plateau. Every summer the Qinghai plateau is a popular sightseeing destination for tourists from home and aboard. But the ever-growing number of visitors is putting increasing pressure on the scenic areas' ecosystems.

The ban on visitors imposed by the scenic areas aims to maintain the ecological health of the Qinghai plateau, and protect the habitat of rare species, which shows the idea of ecological protection now takes precedence over development.