There is a protection zone for Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys, a rare animal species like the giant pandas, called the "state treasure."

Local villagers said that snub-nosed monkeys are often seen in the virgin forest 600 meters away from their houses, especially in the early spring and at the end of the summer every year.

The protection zone, covering 1,853 square kilometers, is 3,500 to 4,500 meters above sea level.

Experts said, there were more than 2,000 snub-nosed monkeys in the area in the 1960s and 1970s, and the number had dropped to about 700 after the 1980s due to excessive poaching.

Experts confirmed that the snub-nosed monkeys living in the zone belong to three different families. The number of these rare monkeys in the zone is expected to surpass 1,000.

Many other rare animals have also been discovered in the zone, such as blue sheep and white-belly caraganas.

The total number of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys now living in China is between 1,000 and 1,500, according to experts.

(People’s Daily 10/19/2000)