Tourists use radar equipment to track Chinese black storks at Juma River, Fangshan district. The river has become a popular destination for people wanting to see the endangered birds in their natural habitat. Photo: Courtesy of Black Leopard Wildlife Conservation Station

Zhuang Yan, 36, will never forget the trip she took in 2012 to Zimei village, Gongga township, Sichuan Province. The remote village's pristine scenery holds a permanent place in her heart.

"The trip was quite unlike any other I'd taken before. I didn't feel like just another tourist. Although there was sightseeing and plenty of posing for photos, I felt more like a native [of Zimei village]," said Zhuang, an interior designer in Shanghai. "I felt a strong sense of environmental protection, like I had a deep connection to the natural environment." 

Zhuang and more than 20 other tourists booked their weeklong tour through the Beijing-based environmental NGO Shan Shui Conservation Center (SSCC). They recognized different flora and fauna, camped in the wilderness and had an in-depth talks about Buddhism with local ethnic Tibetans.    

There was no electricity or clean, modern toilets in the village, but that didn't bother Zhuang and her companions. Their goal was to get in touch with nature by immersing themselves in their surrounds. 

As the world's most populous nation with polluted metropolises, China isn't the first country most people might imagine when thinking about ecotourism.

However, this fledgling sector is gradually growing in popularity as social enterprises and NGOs meet tourists' urge to escape the hustle and bustle for a holiday closer to nature.

Tourists trek through Wanglang National Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province in August 2012. Photo: Courtesy of Shan Shui Conservation Center

Getting in touch with nature 

The SSCC launched its nature school in July 2012 under the aim of bringing urbanites closer to nature to bolster conservation efforts.

"The school runs a dozen tours that mainly cover national nature reserves in Southwest China. The tours run from four to 10 days," said Zou Tao, 26, project coordinator of the school. The most popular destinations for tours are those with rich biological diversity that face growing threats from urbanization, including the Source of Three Rivers in Qinghai Province where the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers converge.

Zhuang booked her trip to Zimei village at a cost of around 6,000 yuan ($961) shortly after the inception of the SSCC nature school.

Zhuang was drawn by the region's simple self-sufficiency with minimal infrastructure that contrasted with her own first-tier city life. "My life in a metropolis appears beautiful on the surface, but deep down I yearn for a simple, pure life just like the one in my hometown Chengdu," said Zhuang, referring to Sichuan's provincial capital.

Each day after horse riding in Zimei village, Zhuang would spend her nights chatting to local villagers to learn more about their way of life. 

Gazing at the star-filled sky and listening to the sounds of frogs, birds and other wildlife presented Zhuang with a refreshing change from the familiar sounds of traffic and construction in hazy Shanghai. 

Tourists collect trash from the Juma River, Fangshan district. Photo: Courtesy of Black Leopard Wildlife Conservation Station

Supporting locals

Despite being in awe of Gongga Mountain, Sichuan's highest mountain, and its surrounding rugged wilderness, Zhuang's tour turned bittersweet when she witnessed the gradual degeneration of the village.

The signs of backpackers and other tourists with minimal environmental protection awareness were evident by mounting piles of litter. Among locals, poaching of wildlife at Gongga Mountain National Nature Reserve nearby the village was alarmingly rampant.

"There are only 60 people responsible for monitoring poaching in around 1,000 square kilometers of snow-capped mountains, forests, meadows and lakes. They have very limited resources," said Zou.

Zou built three cesspits in 2010 for villagers to dump waste, but his eco-friendly solution was never realized due to the large amounts of non-biodegradable plastics discarded in the pits.

Unrestrained tourism has posed a major threat to destinations with fragile ecosystems, and the needs of local people are often overlooked, said Zou.

But ecotourism seeks to address these problems by giving tourists and education as well as a vacation.

"After returning [from Zimei village], I had a stronger urge to support projects that help local people in vulnerable regions. Even though I'm just a regular person, there is still a lot I can do in my future trips to respect the environment, such as only disposing biodegradable trash and making an effort to deeply communicate with local people," said Zhuang.

Zhuang and her fellow tourists donated money after their trip to recruit a Tibetan-language teacher for eight children attending a local school with limited educational resources.

"Ecotourism allows tourists to do more than just enjoy the beauty of nature, which ultimately enriches the significance of their trip and influences more people," said Zou, who noted ecotourism can be a culture shock for travelers more used to five-star accommodation at exotic destinations, such as the Maldives. 

Tourists ride horses to Gongga Temple, Sichuan Province, in July 2012. Photo: Courtesy of Shan Shui Conservation Center

Getting kids outdoors

Zhang Tianrui, 7, has traveled around the world with his family, including to New Zealand and Malaysia. But it was a trip to Beijing's western Fangshan district earlier this month for May Day holidays that left the biggest impression on the young boy from Tianjin.

"We saw ancient trees with long, twisted roots and heard birds singing at nature reserves in Malaysia. In Beijing, we never expected to encounter a primitive paradise so close to home," said Tianrui's father Zhang Yuan, 35.

The Zhang family went to a Fangshan district wetland inhabited by endangered Chinese black storks.

"Unlike our previous trips, Tianrui was more involved in this journey. He listened attentively to environmental experts, helped cleaned the wetland, saw the ecological damage caused by illegal fishing and took an oath to protect the environment," said Zhang.

The family participated in the sixth ecotourism trip arranged by Nature University, a Beijing-based NGO, to the Fangshan wetland.

The two-day tour costs 300 yuan per person, and includes visits to sites along the Juma River in the Yesanpo scenic area, which is home to 48 Chinese black storks.

The tour is led by Li Li, head of the Black Leopard Wildlife Conservation Station. The group was founded in 2000 in Beijing to protect local wildlife.

"Since conservation projects were launched in July 2013, many people have joined tours to gain a better understanding of our work. They want to see local flora and fauna as well as the damage caused by poachers," said Li, adding that the aim is for tourists to combine respect for nature with recreation.

During the trip, Tianrui and 27 other tourists went on patrol up Yingshan Mountain to clear traps set by poachers to catch wildlife.

"Along the journey, we were surprised to find some unknown species of animals that were introduced by volunteer guides. The experience of seeing them in their natural habitat is unlike seeing them at the zoo," said Zhang, "Even though Tianrui got wet when he went into the water, he was very keen to collect trash." 

Eco-working holidays

Tourists with a strong ecological consciousness who want to take their passion further than a short holiday can also engage in volunteer work on a long-term basis. The "voluntourism" trend has been popular overseas for the past decade, but has a relatively short history in China.

Eco-working holidays entail long-term placement rather than temporary accommodation for participants, whose work can range from ecological maintenance to serving as tour guides.

Since 2011, Crocodile Island off Xiamen, Fujian Province, has been a hub for eco-working holidays under the guidance of the China Mangrove Conservation Network, a local environmental NGO.

"While enjoying beautiful scenery and seafood, volunteers can clean beaches, plant mangrove seedlings and help to repair abandoned homes," said Wang Xuan (pseudonym), a former Fujian-based environmental NGO employee who spent an eco-working holiday on Crocodile Island.

"Many people can't accept the concept of paying to work on projects, which is part of the reason why the Chinese mainland has not seen a boom of this type of ecotourism," said Wang. 

After an eco-working holiday in Taiwan in 2011 that involved building footpaths at Pingxi village, Dong Xiaomai, vice principal of the Gaia Nature School under Beijing-based environmental NGO Friends of Nature decided to promote the concept on the mainland.

In 2015, Friends of Nature will launch an eco-working holiday program to build footpaths at nature reserves in Beijing.

"Many people mistake ecotourism as just a tour to an ecological environment, but it's more than this. It's an ecologically sustainable way of tourism," said Dong.