The Shennongjia Nature Reserve, home of the legendary of wild man known as "Bigfoot" in central China suspended tourism services from Jan. 4 to Mar. 25 for "ecological recovery," 13 years after its opening to the public.

Wang Haitao, a local forestry official, said on Monday that the suspension will help protect the more than 1,000 kinds of wild animals, the eco-environment, and the forest and vegetation in the nature reserve.

Dubbed as a gene bank, the nature reserve in the western part of Hubei Province covers an area of 3,250 square kilometers. It was accepted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as one of the world's biosphere preservation zones in 1990.

The nature reserve was named after Shen Nong, a legendary figure who tasted hundreds of kinds of medicinal herbs to look for medicine.

The mountains in the nature reserve have attracted an increasing number of tourists after traces of "Bigfoot" were spotted. The legendary wild man remains a mystery today.

(Xinhua News Agency January 9, 2006)