CHENGDU, Aug 15 (Xinhua) -- Most of the lakes in the quake-hit Jiuzhaigou National Park remain undamaged, although it may take a long time for the UNESCO World Heritage site to recover from the earthquake, geologists said Tuesday.
The national park contains around 20 tourist sites, and is known for its spectacular waterfalls, lush forest, serene plateau lakes, and karst rock formations.
A 7.0-magnitude quake rocked Jiuzhaigou County last Tuesday, and many people feared the region's breathtaking scenery had been destroyed forever.
Local government previously said that Nuorilang Waterfall, one of the park's most well-known sites, had collapsed and that water had drained from Sparkling Lake. However, recent aerial images taken by drones showed that most of the lakes in the park had suffered little damage. "Most of tourist sites in Jiuzhaigou have survived",said Li Zhiqiang ,the Institute of Geology of China Earthquake Administration.
Li said that ongoing aftershocks and possible heavy rain in the next few days may cause further damage to the vulnerable scenic sites.
The roads in the park was severely damaged by falling rocks and landslides, Li said,"The roads in the scenic area have been destroyed and many areas are still unreachable."
However, geologists are optimistic about nature's ability to recover from disasters.
"The lakes were originally formed by earthquakes. This quake may further alter the landforms within the region, but it can also be viewed as part of the rebuilding process", said Yin Yueping, the Ministry of Land and Resources.
A group of geologists have been monitoring possible secondary disasters in the quake-hit regions and an evaluation of the ecosystem and reconstruction of the scenic area will begin soon.
"Although there is a lot of work to do, we are full of confidence in the self - recovery of nature. We will work with UNESCO experts to preserve our valuable heritage,"said Liu Zuoming, Communist Party chief of the Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Aba.
Tourism is Jiuzhaigou's primary industry.In 2016,a total of 7 million 200 thousand visitors were received, of which 180,000 foreigners,with a total tourism revenue of 9 billion yuan (1.35 billion U.S. dollars).
Source：Xinhua
Link： http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-08/15/c_136528594.htm
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