May 22 marked the International Day for Biodiversity. As one of the best preserved areas with original ecology of the world and wildlife diversity, poaching incidents have not happened for nine consecutive years. Hoh Xil has seen a growing number of wild animals such as Tibetan antelope, wild yaks and Tibetan wild donkeys, according to the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve Management Office.

In the late 20th century, as wild animal skin and fur products became popular in the west, a large number of wild animals in Hoh Xil were hunted. The population of Tibetan antelope fell from over 200,000 to less than 20,000.

"During the most rampant period, poachers drove trucks into Hoh Xil and could kill more than 1,000 Tibetan antelope at one time," said Luo Yanhai, a researcher with the Nature Reserve Management Office. "After they skinned the animals, they dumped their carcasses all over the grasslands. It was horrible."

After the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve Management Office was established in 1997, staff  make 50 anti-poaching patrols each year, traveling more than 100,000 kilometers.

In order to help more people understand the ecological protection situation in Hoh Xil, the Nature Reserve Management Office also recruited volunteers each year from May 2002 to come and help protect the area for a period of one month. At the same time, they hold lectures or forums in more than 30 cities nationwide in order to introduce Hoh Xil to the public.

"By means of both law enforcement and public opinion, poaching cases in Hoh Xil has declined from 10 cases in the earliest time to just one or two per year," said Luo Yanhai."Poachers also shifted from driving vehicles in large groups to individually driving motorcycles, ended up disappearing from the grasslands."

In order to prevent poachers from fleeing across regions, a new form of crime, three adjacent nature reserves, namely Altun Mountain, Qiangtang and Hoh Xil, reached an agreement on joint defense and information sharing in September 2009, totally breaking through the boundaries of law enforcement within different regions.

Today, there are more than 60,000 Tibetan antelopes, nearly 20,000 Tibetan wild donkeys, more than 6,000 wild yaks, and more than 3,000 Tibetan gazelles in Hoh Xil Nature Reserve.

The rapid recovery of wild animal populations and the demise in poaching cases signifies that the "protect the ecology with a clenched fist" era has ended. The next step is to focus on research by recruiting specialists in animals, grasslands, glaciers, atmosphere, and other domains to carry out ecological surveys, early warning and monitoring.