STORY - ~ Low-carbon tourism on Moganshan Mountain, E. China

Tourists ride horses at an equestrian site in the Naked Retreats in
Fatou Township of Deqing County, east China's Zhejiang Province, June
2, 2012. (Xinhua/Tan Jin)
French businessman Christophe Peres introduces his resort Le Passage
Mohkan Shan in Moganshan Town of Deqing County, east China's Zhejiang
Province, May 31, 2012.(Xinhua/Tan Jin)
A cleaning woman works at a resort of the Naked Retreats in Moganshan
Town of Deqing County, east China's Zhejiang Province, June 1,
2012.(Xinhua/Tan Jin)
Photo taken on June 2, 2012 shows the local-stylehuts at the Naked
Retreatsin Fatou Township of Deqing County, east China's Zhejiang
Province.(Xinhua/Tan Jin)
Photo taken on June 1, 2012 shows the solar energy collectors of a
resort in Moganshan Townof Deqing County, east China's Zhejiang
Province.(Xinhua/Tan Jin)
In 2007, South African Grant Horsfield found Sanjiuwu, a farming
hamlet on the bamboo clad Moganshan Mountain to the west of Shanghai,
where he rented some underused farmhouses and converted them into
guesthouses. Thus, the Naked Retreats were born,marking the rising of
low-carbon tourist sites onthe Moganshan Mountain, a national scenic
spot in Zhejiang Province.
In 2009, Grant invested 200 million yuan (31.5 million U.S. dollars)
to build another resort not far from Sanjiuwu, while in 2011, French
businessman Christophe Peres also built a resort, LePassage Mohkan
Shan.
According to local tourism authorities, there are now 35 similar
resorts in the Moganshan area, built by investors of over 10 foreign
countries. These resorts were built with local natural materials, such
as bamboo, wood and stone, and they advocated healthy, eco-friendly
lifestyle, providing a rural refuge from the stresses and strains of
city living and office work, thus attracting a large number of foreign
businessmen and white-collar workers.
In October 2010, Deqing County was awarded the"low-carbon tourism
model county" at a tourism summit in Beijing,capital of China.