SOURCE / ECONOMY
Wandering elephants in Yunnan help boost travel to the province
Published: Jun 14, 2021 03:08 PM
Aerial photo taken on June 13, 2021 shows the herd of wild Asian elephants sleeping in Shijie Township of Yimen County, Yuxi City, southwest China's Yunnan Province.(Photo: Xinhua)

Aerial photo taken on June 13, 2021 shows the herd of wild Asian elephants sleeping in Shijie Township of Yimen County, Yuxi City, southwest China's Yunnan Province.(Photo: Xinhua)



The widely-publicized rare journey of a group of wandering elephants in China have made their forest home Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in southern Yunnan Province a hot travel destination during the three-day Dragon Boat Festival which ends on Monday. 

Travel packages for Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture doubled compared with the same period in 2019, according to data sent by Chinese online travel agency platform Qunar to Global Times on Monday.

The wild elephants wandering in Yunnan captured global attention in May after the news of their migration spread across the country's social media and went viral online.

The herd of 14 elephants was seen in Shije Township of Yimen County, Yuxi City, Yunnan Province on Saturday while Another elephant that broke away from the herd eight days ago stayed in the Jinning District of Kunming, according to the office responsible for monitoring their migration.

For more than a month, authorities have arranged police to escort the herd, evacuated roads to facilitate their passage, and used food and other methods to distract them from entering densely populated areas.

China's wildlife authorities said on Sunday that they plan to guide the wandering herd of wild Asian elephants in Yunnan Province to a more suitable wild habitat.