“The mountains are beautiful, but the litter is shocking and heartbreaking.” Today, a Beijing mountaineering enthusiast reported to our official Weibo account that during a visit to the Hebei Dataituo National Nature Reserve, they often saw many trash bags hanging from tree branches, and the grass littered with milk cartons, plastic bags, and mineral water bottles. “We urge everyone to say no to ‘littering carelessly’ and not to turn beautiful scenic areas into garbage seas.”
The Hebei Dataituo National Nature Reserve is located on the northwest side of Haituo Mountain in the southwestern part of Chicheng County, Zhangjiakou City. Its forest ecosystem is relatively well-preserved and was officially approved as a national nature reserve by the State Council in June 2003. According to relevant staff, every year from June to October, large numbers of hikers come here to hike and sightsee from all directions. As the number of hikers increases and their range of activities expands, so does the amount of litter left on the mountain. “There are at least 200 or more mineral water bottles every day, not to mention other types of trash.”
Since the Dataituo Nature Reserve does not charge an entrance fee and has no special funds allocated for trash cleanup, environmental sanitation currently relies mainly on voluntary cleanups by forest rangers and some spontaneous efforts by hikers. “There are too many hikers now, and we can’t keep up with the cleanup,” the staff member explained. “After this year’s National Day holiday, the forest rangers plan to carry out a thorough cleanup.” At the same time, he also calls on all hikers to bring a bag when traveling to take their own trash with them, practice civilized tourism, and protect the nature reserve.