To protect the endangered golden monkey, Yunnan Province has started the construction of a Dian Golden Monkey International Study Center, which will be the first of its kind in China.
Xie Hongfang, director of Yunnan Baimaxueshan National Nature Reserve, says that the construction of the DGMISC will provide a better technology support and research platform for the protection of golden monkeys, which have been listed as one of the 25 most endangered primates in the world.
Golden monkeys have faces that resemble human beings. Their nostrils are turned upward and they have red lips. Living all year in the coniferous forest near the snow line, they are the primate species that live at the highest altitude in China.
Set up in 1983, Yunnan Baimaxueshan National Nature Reserve is located in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, a core area of biodiversity protection in northwest Yunnan. The Reserve is home to over 60% of the world's golden monkeys and the number of the golden monkeys there has increased from about 500 in 1983 to 1300 at present.
