At the end of March 2023, I came to the Laohegou Nature Conservation Center in Pingwu County, Mianyang City, Sichuan Province, to photograph the people and animals here.
Laohegou public welfare protected area is the first social public welfare protected area in China. In 2013, the Western Sichuan Nature Conservation Foundation (later renamed Taohuayuan Ecological Protection Foundation) signed a cooperation agreement with the Pingwu County People’s Government to establish a nature protection area covering 110 square kilometers on the basis of the Lao Hegou state-owned forest farm and the surrounding state-owned forest, and entrusted the Taohuayuan Ecological Protection Foundation to carry out protection and management for 50 years. This established China’s first public welfare protected area model, which is authorized and supervised by the government and managed by non-governmental organizations.
In 2017, the state carried out the pilot of the Giant panda National park system, and the Old River Valley entered the pilot scope. In 2020, the Giant Panda National Park entrusted a total of 43 square kilometers of state-owned forests in Pingwu Village and Shanhe Village to the Taohuayuan Foundation for management. The current management area of the Old River Valley public protection area is 153 square kilometers. The giant panda is a unique species in China, and the establishment of a giant panda national park is conducive to enhancing the coordination and integrity of the giant panda habitat and realizing the stable reproduction of the giant panda population.
During the four days, I spent time with the rangers of the conservation center and the nearby villagers, and integrated into their work, observing how the work of the conservation center and the living environment of the local residents promoted and influenced each other. At the same time, I also heard many wonderful stories about people, virgin forests and wild animals.
