Hundreds of thousands of swallows begin flying over the county town of Yuanmou, in southwest China, as the sun is setting. When it turns dark, they sit on every power transmission wire, seemingly sleeping and ignoring the noise, music and din of vehicles.

On May 1, 1965, Yuanmou County, in the Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province, became internationally famous overnight when Chinese archeologists discovered the fossils of the teeth of an ape man known as "Yuanmou Man" who lived 1.7 million years ago and is the earliest of his kind in China.

The appearance of the large groups of swallows in the county in recent years has added a new scene to the place, said some local officials, who attributed it to the improvement in the environment and the great efforts made by local people to curb the severe land erosion.

According to Li Guolin, the acting magistrate, the local government and people have invested US$ 72 million in environmental programs over the past 12 years, resulting in an increase of green coverage, from 20.5 percent in 1989 to the present 72 at present.

Meanwhile, the government encourages all individuals, regardless of their status, to plant trees on uncultivated, mountainous land, by signing contracts with the government to pay for the rights to develop the land for 50 years.

(People's Daily 08/10/2001)