[Explanation] There is a "famous" monkey king named Luo Qiyue in Balatun, Fengshan County, Hechi City, Guangxi. By restoring the local ecological environment, he "led" the "disappearing" macaques back to the mountains around Baratun to achieve the harmony between the villagers and the macaques. Recently, the reporter approached Luo Qiyue to understand the unrelenting bond he formed with the monkey.
【Explanation】 76-year-old Luo Qiyue was originally a retired cadre of Fengshan County Electric Power Company, and returned to his hometown of Baratun after retirement. Luo Qiyue introduced that the mountains around Baratun used to be the habitat of macaques. In recent years, due to the destruction of vegetation, macaques have gradually "disappeared". In order to restore the vegetation of the mountain, Luo Qiyue started the ideological work of the villagers, allowing the villagers to return farmland to forests and protect wild macaques. Today, after years of hard work by Luo Qiyue and the villagers, more than 5,000 acres of woodland in Baratun have been re-covered with green clothes, and the once disappeared macaque monkeys have also returned to the mountains around Baratun.
[Same period] Luo Qiyue, Chairman of the Bara Monkey Mountain Scenic Spot in Hechi, Guangxi
My hometown was originally here, that is to say, I have a lot of feelings for the mountains and rivers here. When I was young, I used to watch (monitor) monkeys, because at that time the monkeys ruined the crops of the people, and the old people arranged for me to watch Monkey, don't let it spoil the corn. In this way, I have loved monkeys since childhood.
[Commentary] Near noon, with Luo Qiyue's cry, hundreds of macaques gathered from all directions, the scene was quite spectacular. Luo Qiyue introduced that the monkey group can have the current scale, and it is inseparable from his feeding.
[Same period] Luo Qiyue, Chairman of the Bara Monkey Mountain Scenic Spot in Hechi, Guangxi
It has been almost 20 years since our monkey mountain was founded. At the beginning, there were 50 or 60 monkeys, but now there are more than 500 monkeys.
[Explanation] Luo Qiyue also made a lot of effort in order to "trap" the monkey back to Baratun.
[Same period] Luo Qiyue, Chairman of the Bara Monkey Mountain Scenic Spot in Hechi, Guangxi
It took me 7 years for the monkey to get something to eat from my hand. In the first three years, it basically did n’t go down the mountain. I sent it up to the mountain to eat for it. Hurt, so that it slowly becomes familiar with people.
[Explanation] Now, with the support of the forestry department, the local macaque ecological protection area has been built, and "Bara Monkey Mountain" has also become a tourist scenic spot. The environmental awareness of villagers has completely changed after earning income from the operation of tourism. It gradually changed from ignorance at the beginning to conscious maintenance. At the same time that the scenic spot has entered a benign development track, the villagers of Balatun have gradually lifted off poverty and become rich from the development of tourist scenic spots.
[Same period] Luo Qiyue, Chairman of the Bara Monkey Mountain Scenic Spot in Hechi, Guangxi
There are no resources here, so when I came, it was a series of rocky desertifications, and there was very little land. The people ’s standard of living was very low. The villagers led the effort to protect the area and develop tourism, which must be an income. In the past two years, the road has been repaired, and there are more and more tourists. Now the number of tourists who come to us every year is about 80,000.
Chen Yanyou reports from Guangxi Hechi
Editor in charge: [Ye Pan]