Pudacuo National Park, located in Yunnan's Diqing Tibetan autonomous prefecture, is the first of its kind in China. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Established in 2005, Pudacuo National Park in Yunnan's Diqing Tibetan autonomous prefecture is the first of its kind in China. Covering an area of 602.1 square kilometers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the national park is more than 3,500 meters above the sea level and about 40-minute drive from the downtown of Shangari-La, the capital of Diqing.

As the COVID-19 lockdown in China has been largely lifted, tourists from all over the country are visiting the park to enjoy the beauty of the Shuku Lake, alpine meadow, ancient forests, and the culture and religions of ethnic groups, including the Tibetan and the Yi.

In order to better protect the natural resources in the park while improving local people's life, in the last decade the government has endowed 150 million yuan ($21.17 million) to support 3,696 farmers. Apart from direct subsidies, farmers living in the park receive about 1,700 yuan a month each if they take part in the management and protection of the park as patrollers.

Since 2012, the national park has received 9.45 million visitors and generated revenue of 1.8 billion yuan.