Rhesus monkeys have an enjoyable habitat to live in at the Lesser Three Gorges in Wushan County in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, as they are offered both a stable food supply and needy protection by the county government if they misbehave, the Workers' Daily has reported.

The Lesser Three Gorges are formed on the Daning River, a tributary of the Yangtze, China's longest river, and extend about 50 km long inside Wushan County. They are known for forest covered mountains, clear water, dangerous beaches and rough waves.

According to the newspaper, since 1983, Wushan County has insisted in placing 150 kg of cereals each day at fixed spots and times to feed the rhesus monkeys, which enjoy state second-class protection in China.

Wang Chao, the county magistrate, has told farmers that rhesus monkey are state protected animals and none should hurt them even if they do destroy things.

So when rhesus monkeys destroy crops on local farmers' land, concerned farmers usually go to the county government for compensation.

With a steady food supply and other protection measures, the population of rhesus monkeys has increased from the previous 300 to the present 3,000, says the newspaper.

Following the increase in the number of rhesus monkeys, Wushan County now needs to feed them with more than 40,000 kg of maize annually.

Thanks to the well preserved ecology and nice scenery, Wushan County has become one of the most popular tourism destinations in China.

Last year, the county hosted more than one million tourists at the Lesser Three Gorges, and the tourism revenue accounted for 40 percent of the county's income, according to the newspaper.

(People's Daily 07/26/2001)