Yunnan Province, a favorite tourist destination in China, is taking steps to clean up the trash left scattered about by the increasing number of visitors.

The Yunnan provincial government urged 23 tourism spots to clean up, including Xishuangbanna, a well-known tropical forest, Dali, a world-famous ancient city, and the Stone Forest.

The government said in a recent circular that pollution in the 23 scenic spots of Yunnan has been very heavy, mainly because there are no effective methods to dispose of garbage and domestic sewage.

Tourists are discarding an excess of plastic bags, pop-tops and batteries, according to the circular.

Although the local government has organized a great number of volunteers to pick up rubbish in scenic spots, experts think this alone won't solve the problem.

The provincial government asked to ban the use of Styrofoam containers and plastic bags inside those spots, and tourists will be reminded not to litter.

Local governments also plan to build garbage and sewage disposal factories near each of the major travel spots.

Located in southwest China, Yunnan is one of the most important tourism attractions in China. In 2000, Yunnan received nearly 40 million tourists from other parts of China and more than one million tourists from overseas.

The total tourism income reached 21.1 billion yuan (some US$ 2.5 billion) in 2000, ranking seventh in China.

(People's Daily 08/26/2001)