Monkey Man China Close Up

Emei Shan in Western Sichuan is one of China's sacred mountains.

The monasteries and temples that grace its peaks

are altars to Buddhism.

The mountain is a National Park,

boasting a myriad of flora and fauna.

And it's famous for its tribes of Tibetan macaque monkeys.

Hao Jian is a film-maker. He knows Mount Emei well.

He made a name for himself with a Chinese television first,

a documentary about the mountain's mischievous inhabitants.

What inspired Hao Jian to make the film?

When it was shown on Sichuan television,

Hao Jian's film got higher ratings than any other programme

and went on to win a string of awards.

The Tibetan macaque monkeys are one of China's rare species.

It was the first time any Chinese film-maker

had observed their lives so closely.

Most of Mount Emei's monkeys

survive completely in the wild on remote parts of the mountain.

For three years and through every season,

Hao Jian followed one of these tribes with the help of a zoologist,

a specialist on the monkeys.

Hao Jian works for Sichuan Television in Chung Do.

Miss Sun is his boss,

and she's spearheaded the TV station's advance

into wildlife broadcasting.

The unit's top film-makers are having a meeting

to review their most recent productions.

In China, wildlife protection is in its infancy.

Though laws are gradually being put in place,

ignorance amongst the general public is high.

Miss Sun feels that television can open people's eyes.

Since the success of Hao Jian's programme, the Wildlife Unit

has started to tackle difficult issues, like the conflicts that

arrive when rapid economic growth becomes a threat to the environment.

Tourism poses one such conflict.

It's loudly hailed as one of China's big new money spinners.

In high season, Mount Emei is deluged.

The monkeys are one of the main attractions.

8,000 people a day flock into the monkey reserve

in search of the ultimate photo-opportunity.

Seeing the problems, the National Park decided

to take protective measures for monkeys and tourists.

They have brought in monkey guardians.

A bite from a monkey can be dangerous,

and they are easily aroused.

All this is meat for Hao Jian's latest film.

He's looking at the conflict between wildlife and tourism,

and this time the monkey guardians are centre stage.

Nowadays tourists are warned not to feed monkeys anything

but the special food on sale in the reserve.

Even so, people break the rules, and monkeys, like humans,

seemed to relish forbidden fruit.

This is true monkey business.

Keeping the monkeys away could halve tourist earnings.

They are, after all, the stars of the show.

8:00am on a damp and misty morning.

The guardians try to entice the monkeys into the reserve,

ready for the tourists.

Eventually a tasty breakfast is irresistible.

The guardians are experts on the relationship between humans

and their counterparts.

Monkeys apparently have a good memory for misdemeanours.

They can even get their own back on the guardians.

Peng tried to stop a tourist feeding a monkey biscuits.

Hao Jian has watched the number of tourists on Mount Emei double

over the last few years.

Most are Chinese city dwellers with more money and more leisure time.

The guardians are concerned that this tidal wave of tourists

may soon become unmanageable.

Restricting the number of tourists would be an unpopular move with the

many traders and hoteliers who now make a good living on the mountain.

Hao Jian enjoys getting to know the locals and he has invited

the guardians back for supper at the guest house where he is staying.

Half board costs as little as £4 per night here.

But it's still a much better income for the owners

than working on the land.

Early morning on the summit of Emei Shan is a magical experience.

Mount Emei's temples and monasteries are a favourite retreat.

Some have been lavishly restored since the damage they suffered

during Mao's Cultural Revolution.

Hao Jian has a deep interest in China's ancient philosophies,

Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism.

In Chinese culture, these beliefs seem to co-exist quite happily

and each can play a role in spiritual growth.

The jewel of Mount Emei is the monastery on its summit.

The huge numbers of tourists here could be seen

as a distraction from the essence of Buddhism.

But Abbot Guo Zheng thinks not.

The filming is over, and now Hao Jian's started editing.

He's showing Miss Sun some of the scenes he has shot.

Sichuan Television is a natural convert to wildlife broadcasting.

With so many native species and wilderness areas,

they're ideally placed.

But to convert the whole nation, more Chinese broadcasters

need to follow their lead.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd