Nanji Luo Nature Reserve, a pristine high-altitude lake area in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, has been closed to tourists due to environmental concerns since September 30, 2024. Yet hikers have been caught repeatedly sneaking into the restricted zone, either in the dark or using little-traveled paths. Work is underway to restore almost 1.2 square kilometers of damaged vegetation. However, the suspension of tourism has affected local revenues. When tourism was legal, combined local income could be as much as 20 million yuan (US$2.94m) in four months, but now incomes are declining. Experts suggest there should be a network of wooden boardwalks in the reserve to keep trekkers out of fragile wilderness before it reopens. But the local government has already spent lavishly on building infrastructure in the zone, projected to reopen as a trekking site with rigorous conservation rules.
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