QUOTE
China closes Bigfoot hunting grounds
10:56 AM CST on Friday, January 27, 2006 - Associated Press
SHANGHAI, China – China has temporarily closed parts of a nature reserve that attracts scores of people each year hunting for evidence of an apelike Bigfoot creature, a park official said last week.
Sections of Shennongjia Nature Reserve will remain closed for at least three months to allow its natural attractions to recover from the wear and tear of visitors, said Wang Yong, an official from the park's tourism bureau.
"During this period, we are going to do some research on how to improve the attraction of Shennongjia," he said.
Proposals included a possible airport in the area to ease tourists' access.
Located deep in the remote mountains of Hubei province, the park has long been rumored as the home to the elusive creature known in Chinese as the Yeren, or "wild man."
Scientists say there is no scientific evidence the creature exists, but scores of people claim to have seen it roaming the park, about 670 miles southwest of Beijing.
Sightings of a similar yetilike creature have been reported in Tibet, though its existence hasn't been proved either.
China's government has previously urged tourist agencies to cut down on creature-hunting safaris in Shennongjia, saying they were misleading and could harm the environment.
However, the park itself has sought to lure tourists with a $60,000 reward for the Yeren's capture.
10:56 AM CST on Friday, January 27, 2006 - Associated Press
SHANGHAI, China – China has temporarily closed parts of a nature reserve that attracts scores of people each year hunting for evidence of an apelike Bigfoot creature, a park official said last week.
Sections of Shennongjia Nature Reserve will remain closed for at least three months to allow its natural attractions to recover from the wear and tear of visitors, said Wang Yong, an official from the park's tourism bureau.
"During this period, we are going to do some research on how to improve the attraction of Shennongjia," he said.
Proposals included a possible airport in the area to ease tourists' access.
Located deep in the remote mountains of Hubei province, the park has long been rumored as the home to the elusive creature known in Chinese as the Yeren, or "wild man."
Scientists say there is no scientific evidence the creature exists, but scores of people claim to have seen it roaming the park, about 670 miles southwest of Beijing.
Sightings of a similar yetilike creature have been reported in Tibet, though its existence hasn't been proved either.
China's government has previously urged tourist agencies to cut down on creature-hunting safaris in Shennongjia, saying they were misleading and could harm the environment.
However, the park itself has sought to lure tourists with a $60,000 reward for the Yeren's capture.