Tourists are expected to see wild monkeys playing again next year on the banks of the Yangtze River's scenic Three Gorges area after many years of absence due to deforestation and hunting.

A total of 80 wild macaques were transported to the Qutang Gorge early this month from the Lesser Three Gorges, said Zhang Jikui, marketing director of Chongqing Yangtze River Three Gorges Tourism Development Co. Ltd. The Lesser Three Gorges refers to three valleys on Yangtze's tributary - the Daning River. The Three Gorges proper are the Qutang, Wuxia and Xiling gorges of the Yangtze.

Two experienced trainers are teaching the macaques to become accustomed to humans, for example, how to ask for food, show thanks and even present performances for tourists, Zhang said.

The macaques used to live in a semi-wild environment in the Lesser Three Gorges where special workers provided them with regular food at fixed sites, according to Zhang.

They will also be living in a similar environment at the Qutang Gorge area after the training is completed, he added.

Monkeys used to live on the banks of the Three Gorges area, as described in a poem by the famed Li Bai (701-762), which says "While the cries of monkeys still echoing across the banks, my skiff has already passed ten thousand peaks". However, the animals disappeared on the banks during the 1950s and 1960s because of deforestation and hunting, Zhang said.

With the improvement in the ecological environment of the area, to relocate a certain number of monkeys will not only help restore an ecological balance, it will also meet the demand of tourists to see monkeys again in the area, Zhang said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 23, 2007)