"Avatar" character promotes environmental protection in Yunnan

A tourist walking along a path in the tropical rainforest of Xishuangbanna, the southernmost prefecture of China's Yunnan Province, carelessly dropped some fruit skin, when all of a sudden a character from the film "Avatar" jumped out from the nearby forest and gestured towards the tourist. What if the tourist did not understand? A female "Avatar" character then jumped out holding a sign that read "No Littering." This was a funny scene reporters witnessed during an interview at the Wangtianshu Scenic Spot on Sept. 1.

The two scenic spot workers dressed up as characters from "Avatar" to specially hide in the jungle and jump out when tourists pass by. Their performances vary for different types of tourists. If one of the passing tourists is smoking, the female "Avatar" character will show a sign reading "No Smoking." If the tourists all exhibit good manners, the sign held by the female will read "Welcome."

This fantastic idea that the scenic spot came up with has really aroused strong interest from tourists, and almost every single tourist will stop to look at the "Avatar" characters. Some tourists hurriedly took photos of them, and some even went into the forest to take photos with them.

Luo Fuliang, general manager of the scenic spot, said that they came up with this idea when they saw the lofty plants and spectacular ecological environment in the blockbuster film "Avatar," and that they are very similar to the tropical rainforest in the scenic spot. In May, they shot a Chinese version of "Avatar" with the tropical rainforest as the setting, and the video won favor with some netizens.

The scenic spot launched the live version of "Avatar" in its tropical rainforest on Sept. 1 in order to entertain tourists in a funny and well-meaning manner and to remind tourists to protect the environment. Thus, tourists may not only enjoy the fresh air in the tropical rainforest, but also feel relaxed.

Spring City Evening News contributes to this report.

By People's Daily Online