A story of a group of hikers reportedly picking snowdrop flowers illegally at Mount Tianshan in northwest China’s Xinjiang region is being widely circulated online, enraging Chinese netizens.
The story, initially posted on online Chinese forums, said that Hong Fa, the leader of an outdoor hiking team, plucked several snowdrops along with his 31 teammates as they attempted to cross the Langta Line C or "Wolf Tower" section of the mountain between July 27 and Aug. 7.
The posts also included photos allegedly showing the snowdrops plucked by the hikers. The photos, said to be posted by Hong, showed more than 100 snowdrop flowers piled up on the ground.
One post attracted as many as 86,300 views and received more than 500 comments from users. Several netizens, many identifying themselves as hiking enthusiasts, condemned the actions of the hikers and called for self-discipline on hikes.
According to Yang Jun, captain of the Xinjiang Shanyou Mountain Rescue Team, the snowdrops were like "fairies" of Mount Tianshan and should not be plucked by anyone. Yang also admitted forwarding the story on his personal Weibo account, a social media platform similar to Twitter.
Yang said that many of his fellow hikers have expressed their discontentment on the hiking team's behavior on his Weibo account and urged the local government to establish checkpoints to prevent further damage to the snowdrops on Mount Tianshan.
Langta Line C is one of the most popular hiking trails in the mountain, with more than 1,000 hikers traveling through the area recently, Yang told CRIENGLISH.com on Wednesday, noting that the improper behaviors of some visitors put a huge amount of pressure on local environment protection.
The police are currently investigating the case, according to media reports.