STORY: Electric sightseeing rafts boost eco-tourism in China's Lijiang River
SHOOTING TIME: April 2, 2024
DATELINE: April 10, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:26
LOCATION: NANNING, China
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Lijiang River
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): TANG JIANWEI, Official, Lijiang River scenic area
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): MO YISONG, Raft operator
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): TANG JIANWEI, Official, Lijiang River scenic area

STORYLINE:

The Lijiang River in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where clean water flows between the scenic karst mountains, has been hailed as one of the most beautiful rivers on earth.

For many tourists, it is a great place for bamboo rafting. 

In recent years, the promotion of an eco-friendly raft has greatly improved local environment and bettered tourist experiences.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): TANG JIANWEI, Official, Lijiang River scenic area
"This bamboo raft powered by electricity is specially designed for tourists visiting the Lijiang River. Each raft is equipped with two blocks of lithium-ion batteries, a control system, and an electric powertrain. It runs purely on electricity." 

Prior to these green efforts, the Lijiang River had more than 1,200 rafts operated with traditional combustion engines, which used to create a noise of around 90 decibels (dB).

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): MO YISONG, Raft operator
"When tourists appreciated the view on diesel-engined rafts, the noise was too loud for me to talk to them. We couldn't hear each other clearly. But even after my voice became hoarse, they still kept asking me to speak louder. It was very tiresome."

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): TANG JIANWEI, Official, Lijiang River scenic area
"After we replaced diesel-engined rafts with electric ones, the noise was reduced from 80-90 dB to 60 dB, which can not only improve the tourists' experience, but also minimize the disturbance to wildlife inhabiting around the Lijiang River."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nanning, China.
(XHTV)