Ecotourism In China: Exploring Jinbo Village's Organics, Embroidery And Culture (PHOTOS)

It may be famous in places like Costa Rica and Kenya but have you ever thought about China as an eco-destination? Ecotourism in China is exceeding rare, but it does exist. Jinbo village in Wenchuan county, Sichuan province has been offering ecotours since 2009.

With the help of social workers from Hong Kong's Polytechnic University and Guangzhou's Sun Yat Sen University, this quaint Qiang minority village produces organic produce for the fledgling Chinese organic food markets, sells its traditional embroidery around China as well hosts guests both foreign and domestic in their farmhouses that dot the mountain valley.

Although there are many ecotourism operations in China, many do not understand or totally disregard the true spirit of eco-tourism and instead focus on profit making. Most of the legitimate ecotourism operations are small and operate in Chinese only. The Jinbo village ecotourism website is here: lvgeng.org

Check out the photos below.

About the author: Derrick Chang is a Hong Kong-based photojournalist. His work has been published in the New York Times, International Herald Tribune, CNN.com, Time magazine, and other Asian publications. He also collaborates extensively with non-government organizations throughout Asia to promote humanitarian causes.

Jinbo village

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Jinbo village is located in a valley at 1700 meters above sea level in Wenchuan county which is near the epicenter of the May 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province, China.

Jinbo village

Jinbo village is located in a valley at 1700 meters above sea level in Wenchuan county which is near the epicenter of the May 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province, China.

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Jinbo village

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[jetle25]

12:40 PM on 02/28/2011

Eco Tourism....I have a love hate relationship with that word. I wish the two worlds of Jinbo Village and a giant city like Shanghai could combine so that not only is a city green, sustainable, organic food producing, But also sustaining millions of people in a dense space. Before industrialization most of China and the world was like Jinbo Village. People cared for the Earth and farmed. I think its great that Universities, Social Workers, Top Govt people are flocking to Jinbo. But seriously what we need are people putting that effort and energy into cities and urban centers and suburbs. Yes we can have these beautiful places like Jinbo but it doesn't solve the problem of pollution coming from Factories, Old sewage systems, and unsustainable farming. I would love to visit this place if I ever go back to China. But I think its very possible to have these landscapes in your own back yard. They were once there its just that we destroyed it all.

[DDMenace]

08:57 AM on 02/28/2011

Nice photo. Couldn't help but notice the indigenous Chinese hemp (marijuana) growing lushly in the right foreground.

Hao Gee Lah!

[GustavoRejivik]

03:52 AM on 02/28/2011

Nothing Green or Eco-Friendly about China ... what's with all these Pro-China Stories?? They buy some of the Huff Po??

Truth is most of China never Industrialized in the first place.... still 3rd World ... not Green or Eco-Friendly .. when will the Huff-Po report on the massive China Indistrialization?

[acabee]

07:08 PM on 02/27/2011

I bet most of you never been to China, never will. Why all the hate, links and statistics? Is this how we do things? get ahead by bringing everyone down?

[MayoGalway]

09:00 PM on 02/27/2011

No hate. Just pointing out the facts. People seem to believe that the USA is the main problem while ignoring the major environmental problems that are occuring in population centers in other parts of the world. China, India, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia> 3.5 bil people. 10x the USA pop. While the USA might be trying to legislate/regulate their carbon footprint the growth industries in these other countries are moving on unrestrained. Check the links.

[ken607]

07:37 AM on 02/27/2011

once again communist china shows up capitalist america! when are the american people going to realize that the megarich dont give a squat about america. china TAXES thier rich! when the govt finally does stop the unethical treatment of the working class in this country, we CAN have echo friendly places too. but for know we must deal with states like TEXAS that destroy echosystems. lets let the red states secede and die off. because that IS the end game for states like that. want to see how these polluters think. watch (on deadly ground)steven segal and micheal cane. micheal cane plays an exelent part of showing what the rich oil bast@rds really think. yes its just a movie, but it shows TRUTH! LIKe faulty blowout preventers in THE 1980s. funny in 2010 the gulf is destroyed by a "faulty preventer. also coincidense that the rig blew up less than a week after they had legislation to regulate them. coincidence NOT!

[Malcolm Hensley]

11:59 AM on 02/27/2011

Isn't this the nation that in the past 30 some odd years destroyed over 67% of their rain forest? Destroyed this irreplaceable resource when we all new better in their quest for money! You think they have been giving pandas away because they are such nice guys?

How is their system superior to ours again?

[Janice Moulton]

04:09 PM on 02/27/2011

China is the only country where reforestation has increased in the last 20 years. Get your facts straight, Malcolm.

[Janice Moulton]

04:18 PM on 02/27/2011

Sorry I didn't give a reference http://rainforests.mongabay.com/deforestation/2000/China.htm

for reforestation in China

[MayoGalway]

11:26 PM on 02/26/2011

While the USA argues about what kind of lightbulbs they should use. China, India, Russia with roughly 3bil people pour massive amounts of toxic chemicals into their air, land, rivers and lakes. w/o much regard for how they're effecting the populace or the world. Pollution from China drifts over to NoAmer. Dead zones exist where flora/fauna barely exist and human mortality rates are in serious decline. Check these links.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,493033,00.html> india river pollution

http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/AtmCorros/mapIndia.htm> india air pollution

http://www1.american.edu/ted/russair.htm> russia air

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090213/120116967.html> russia air
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/257934/russian_tv_blames_amur_river_pollution_on_chinese_sewage/ >dying river
http://alttransport.com/2011/02/u-s-says-beijing-air-pollution-is-beyond-measurable/# >worst
Money quote:
China has already surpassed the U.S. when it comes to the worst pollution levels in the world, and considering its rapid rate of growth — that number is only going to grow before it comes down. Currently over 70 percent of China’s electricity comes from coal plants, and the country is continuing to build more of them. As a result, China is now responsible for 24 percent of the global fossil emissions of CO2.

China is also supposed to see a surge in vehicular traffic to more than 1.2 billion by 2025, from 750 million today.

[Janice Moulton]

04:22 PM on 02/27/2011

If you realize that China has 4.3 times more people than the US, the statistics look very different.
China has 24% of the world's population.

They create a lot of pollution but so do we, and we do more per capita by a long shot. So let's celebrate the ecotourism and encourage more of it.

[MayoGalway]

08:49 PM on 02/27/2011

Get back to me after you've read the links. That massive population and unchecked growth will continue to exceed whatever the USA contributes. See links below.

[MayoGalway]

10:54 PM on 02/26/2011

Why isn't this special. Try these links to see whats going on in the rest of China before waxing rhapsodic about this isolated idyllic community. Earlier Mike 72 stated "I am confident that the environmen­tal issues will be equally effectivel­y addressed in the foreseeabl­e future. It is a matter of time for the government to shift priority, and that time is fast approachin­g." Well, checkout these links and you'll see that rapid growth and little concern for the people and the environment has lead to a massive and growing ecological disaster. China is a mess.
http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=389&catid=10&subcatid=66 >deforestation

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-05/30/content_604228.htm >rivers

http://www2.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2010-09/09/content_11277493.htm> auto pollution

http://www.accidentattorneys.com/china-auto-acc-deaths.cfm > auto deaths
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/070709-china-pollution.html >air pollution

[mike72]

11:27 PM on 02/26/2011

Let me explain why I would say I am confident that China will address this issue successfully in the near future.

In the last three decades, along with stellar industrialization modernization, is one quiet and succesful revolution: Urbanization Revolution. Not too many people talk about it but to me, this is actually the most critical transformation in China. Chinese government has been systematically create HUNDREDS OF modern and mid-size cities around the major cities, or along the highway and speed train routes that connect those major cities. In additiona numberous towns are created around those mid sized cities.

It is estimated that over 500 million ADDITIONAL people will eventually urbanized over the last couple decades. This means first time ever in Chinese history, there will be more people living in cities than in the country. The implication of this Urbanization Revolution will be fundamental: the resources will be more efficiently distributed among the urban centers. The education will be more consistent and more effectively enforced. Even the pollution (per person) will be effectively controlled as more and more families will be relying on gas/electricity and avoiding the coal and wood burning. And because China is so gung-ho on public transportation (massive bus/subway/speed train), the cost to move a person from point A to point B within the urbant center will be reduced.

Along with moving up the manufacturing food chain (hopefully), the Urbanization Revolution will help reduce overall pollution in China.

We will see.

[MayoGalway]

02:35 AM on 02/27/2011

Your hopeful optimism is commendable but I also believe you are being naive if you think they can or will control their burgeoning environmentally unfriendly growth. Did you read ANY of the links? I dare say irreparable damage has already been done to many parts of their country(same goes for India/Russia). Add to that the massive increase in road building and auto production. Go to my other post above and check those links. China's rising middle and upper classes want autos> check the death tolls, they won't be going down(600 per day). New drivers pedestrians beware. Cheap cars fewer safety regulations for the under classes.. Do you think they'll have air-bags, use seat-belts? Read the links if you're still unconvinced. Please let me know if you can spin something positive out of this unrestrained growth. Have you read about Hainan Island?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/31/world/asia/31hainan.html
Remaking the island(size of Belgium) into an ultra-rich playground. Investors are driving up prices of land and seafront properties and displacing local populations and industries. "no-holds-barred effort to remake Hainan into the Chinese equivalent of Monaco, Las Vegas and Hawaii." Don't get me started on their well-known use of dangerous elements in so many of their exports, the endangered animal trade, or pirating DVD's/CD's. There's not enough perfume to cover up the smell of this tu rd.

[Malcolm Hensley]

12:05 PM on 02/27/2011

Wasn't there a report out there that China burnt over 45% of all the coal burnt on the planet in 2009! Bet that percentage went up in 2010! obviously Urbanization requires gargantuan amounts of fossil fuels!

[Moti]

09:57 PM on 02/26/2011

The HP and China - puppy love.

[mike72]

11:09 PM on 02/26/2011

I kind of agree.

[pa30]

09:07 PM on 02/26/2011

Pretty pictures, but they hide the fact that many young Chinese are being moved and trapped in comerce zones to make $80/month making everything from Nikes to apples.It also doesn't tell that China is now the biggest user of oil and coal.Their 300 and some SOE 's share little with the working class,despite huge earnings.They continue to persicute Uigers and non Hunan Chinese.They pirated our technology with WJC's blessing afterfinancing his reelection.Nice photo's, though.

[LMPE]

02:54 PM on 02/26/2011

Well I would expect the people to have more of an environmental conscience than the government.

[mike72]

06:29 PM on 02/26/2011

It will take a while before the environmental consciousness gets into the head of the governement officials. But once it does, you will see massive infrastructure change applied for the environmental issue.

Watching how they perform in the green energy sector, the super computation sector, the high speed train section, I am confident that the environmental issues will be equally effectively addressed in the foreseeable future. It is a matter of time for the government to shift priority, and that time is fast approaching.

[flamflurm]

02:51 PM on 02/26/2011

Ecotourism in China is a contradiction in terms. That valley is pretty, but the electricity comes from coal burnt inefficiently... Also, getting all the way over there is about as ecologically coherent as Al Gore's jet.

[Dezza00]

09:16 PM on 02/26/2011

While there are large areas in China that mine and burn coal, Jinbo village is not one of them. The mountain water is so pure in this area that you can drink it straight out of the river and the villagers pipe it into their homes.

If I can find any fault with this place it is that the authorities are building dams in many of the rivers but the local people are resisting the projects. As the moderator said below, it's best foreigners learn about China not only through the CCP mouthpiece and its deeds but also the voice of its people.

[abbienormal]

02:17 PM on 02/26/2011

We had better start learning about China as a culture and as a part of the global community. Stereotypes are no longer sufficient.

[alteregoess]

04:20 PM on 02/26/2011

Agreed. I'm reading 1432 right now ,and becoming more and more amazed that we're still taught that European explorers are credited for many "firsts" that the Chinese actually did decades earlier. We are far too American- and Eurocentric.

[priscianusjr]

10:56 PM on 02/28/2011

Do you mean 1421 by Gavin Menzies? That's an entertaining book, I read it myself, but it's a load of malarkey, as I started to realize about half way through. The Chinese do have many, many firsts to their credit, but don't put too much reliance in that book.
Or is 1432 the sequel?

[mike72]

06:37 PM on 02/26/2011

Alteregoess, read a book written by Europeans about who actually sparked Renaissance and pulled Eruope out of dark age, and you might be surprised.

(Hint, it is not the long gone Greeks or Romans, but look further east where another strange Empire looming high at its height of civilization at that moment in history.)

Google it.

[eyelashviper]

02:00 PM on 02/26/2011

Gorgeous countryside, and the textiles are very similar to work from highland Mexico and Guatemala....even the terrain resembles Mexico and Central America.

[Vince Weiguang Li]

05:28 PM on 02/26/2011

And the environmental degradation is similar to Mexico.

[vesaversa1]

01:28 PM on 02/26/2011

Eco Tourism ! Did anyone notice all the pollution hanging over the Chinese mountain tops ?

[eyelashviper]

01:59 PM on 02/26/2011

Those appear to be clouds, quite common in high mountainous regions, especially in the warm months...ever been to Costa Rica? Looks very similar.

[mike72]

02:35 PM on 02/26/2011

Gosh ... you are so fre*aky st**upid ...

[RealityCallingg]

01:16 PM on 02/26/2011

Ah yes, Ecopoverty! and state controlled...everything! The regressives wet dream for the world! Who bought them the beers? Cus they would have had to save for months to afford a six pack.

[phazeroftruth]

02:39 PM on 02/26/2011

You are strangely close-minded. Poverty is poverty. Has nothing to do with communism, capitalism, or any other type of government structure. You are born in a certain place with certian chances and your actions guide your way. If they had been born in Shanghai or Beijing to a wealthy shipping family what are the chances they would be living in the mountains cutting down bamboo and sugar cane? 0%.

Also, everything is cheaper over there so their self-sufficient selves bought the beer personally.

[alteregoess]

04:23 PM on 02/26/2011

I've done a lot of field work in various countries in Africa and it's the same way - beer is cheap, if you don't buy it at a fancy restaurant. The beer in Zambia was brewed by the government when I was there 20 years ago, and was dirt cheap and actually pretty good.