Chinanews, Urumqi, Apr. 27 – In order to protect the grassland resources in Tianchi Lake, local government in Fukang County and the Tianchi Management Commission have made a decision that starting from this year, they will reduce the number of cattle raised on the grassland in Tianchi so that the grassland won't be overly exploited.

 

Tianchi Lake (or Heaven Lake) is listed as one of the key state scenic spots. Legend has it that the Queen Mother of the Western Heaven resided in the lake. Tianchi Lake contains 40 scenic spots. Due to the rich biological resources, the scenery there is fantastic. Tianchi is said to be a gene bank for alpine biological species. In 2006, it received 800,000 visitors from home and abroad.

 

Recently, 600 herdspeople living in the ethnic Kazak region in Sangonghe, Fukang County and in the Shuimogou Village signed a duty letter with local government. The duty letter guarantees that the number of cattle raised on the grassland near Tianchi Lake should not exceed 50,000 in the coming summer. Previously, a greater number of cattle ate grass near the lake. At one time, the number of cattle even reached 160,000 at most. Since the number of cattle living on the grassland far exceeded the state’s upper limit level, many grassland resources were overly exploited.

 

By reducing the number of livestock living near Tianchi, it is expected that the grassland resources near the lake will be better protected and biological environment near the lake will improve, said Chi Wenjie, director of the Tianchi Lake Management Commission.