The forest is gaining ground in Shangri-la city, with the coverage rate reaching 76 percent. Located in the core area of the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas (a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which lies within the upper reaches of the Jinsha, Lancang and Nujiang rivers.), the area is high in the mountains-the altitude of Shangri-la city in Diqing Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Yunnan province is nearly 3,300 meters.[Photo/Xinhua]

Before 1998,the main economic driver was natural forest logging. But in recent years, this strategy began to shift towards a more ecological way of development. A range of initiatives, such as returning farming land to forestry, returning grazing land to grassland and natural forest protection, have resulted in a big change in local ecological conditions. The 76 percent forest coverage rate marks a 4 percent increase compared to a decade ago.