On March 30th, following his attendance at an awards ceremony in Leshan, Dr. Yin Kaipu, a researcher at the Chengdu Institute of Biology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (referred to as "Chengdu Institute of Biology" below), and a renowned ecologist, went to the Chengdu Funeral Home to bid farewell to his former leader Ma Shitu.
Ma Shitu passed away on March 28th at the age of 110 due to illness. Known as a revolutionary, writer, and calligrapher, Ma Shitu was also a scientific administrator who served as the principal leader of the Sichuan Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (later renamed Southwest Branch and Chengdu Branch) from 1958 to 1983, making significant contributions to the development of science and technology in Sichuan. Moreover, he played an important role in the establishment of the Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve.
Recalling Ma's legacy, Yin Kaipu expressed deep respect. "I owe much of my youth and later years to it," Ma once described his connection with the Chengdu Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
In 1958, Ma Shitu was tasked with establishing the Sichuan Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where he served as the secretary of the branch's party committee and vice president. Building a scientific institution requires capable individuals, so his first task was to recruit personnel and enroll students.
"Ma once said that talent for scientific research should be nurtured from an early stage," Yin Kaipu recalled. Under Ma Shitu's initiative, the Chengdu Municipal Education Bureau handed over Chengdu No. 12 High School to the Sichuan Branch, which was then transformed into the "Chinese Academy of Sciences Sichuan Branch School of Science and Technology," dedicated to training talents for scientific research.
Yin Kaipu happened to be a student there. One day after the winter vacation of 1959, Ma Shitu visited the school and delivered a special report on its establishment to all teachers and students. It was Yin Kaipu's first encounter with Ma Shitu, leaving a profound impression on him.
"Ma was deeply involved in revolutionary work and had a particularly infectious way of speaking, passionate and inspiring," Yin Kaipu recalled. Listening to his passionate speech, filled with expectations for contributing to the country's scientific endeavors, Yin Kaipu and his classmates cheered, taking off their hats and even coats, excitedly throwing them into the air.
In 1960, Yin Kaipu, as one of the second batch of graduates, was assigned to the Institute of Agricultural Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Sichuan Branch (now Chengdu Institute of Biology), specializing in plant and ecological investigations.
"It was through such opportunities that I started with the collection of plant specimens and developed an inseparable bond with the mountains and rivers of Sichuan," Yin Kaipu said.
Contributions to Jiuzhaigou Conservation Efforts
In August 1970, Yin Kaipu and his colleagues Pu Fading and Hu Longji embarked on a mission to conduct a "Sichuan Dioscorea Plant Resource Survey" in the northwestern part of Sichuan Province. The day before they were to return to Chengdu, they met a fellow Chengdu native who had been assigned to work in the area. Upon hearing about a nearby scenic spot, Yin Kaipu decided to visit it the next day.
When the inspection team arrived at what is now known as Wolong Lake and Shuanglong Lake, Yin Kaipu was captivated by the beautiful scenery: the milky white travertine embankments lying horizontally in the lakes, and several large tree trunks lying upside down at the bottom of the lake like dragons swimming underwater.
However, he noticed that there was road construction for a logging site in the valley, and the road only extended to near Wolong Lake. The extensive logging was about to begin, which saddened Yin Kaipu. After his second visit to Jiuzhaigou in July 1975, Yin Kaipu reported to the Aba Prefecture Revolutionary Committee, the Sichuan Provincial Science and Technology Commission, and the Sichuan Provincial Revolutionary Committee, proposing the establishment of a nature reserve.
In 1978, during his third visit to the valley, Yin Kaipu, with the support of the leadership of the institute, wrote a report titled "Report on the Establishment of Several Nature Reserves in Sichuan by the Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences."
"After completing the report, the question arose of how to deliver it to the national leadership and attract enough attention," Yin Kaipu recalled. Upon learning that Ma Shitu, then president of the Chengdu Branch, was going to Beijing for a meeting of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yin Kaipu saw an opportunity and handed the report to Ma Shitu first. "After reading the report, President Ma strongly supported the initiative. He assured me that he would take the report to Beijing and personally hand it over to Vice Premier and President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fang Yi."
Shortly afterward, the Chinese Academy of Sciences forwarded the report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. With the support of leaders at all levels and relevant departments, on December 15, 1978, the State Council issued a document officially approving the establishment of four nature reserves including Jiuzhaigou. Yin Kaipu also drafted the data regarding the scope and area of the reserve.
The situation of logging in Jiuzhaigou forests received attention, and the logging sites established in the valley were gradually relocated. Conservation efforts in Jiuzhaigou gradually gained momentum. It is the efforts of these predecessors that have preserved this gem, which still exudes its original charm, admired by people from all over the world.
Photos of Jiuzhaigou taken by researchers from the Institute of Biology in 1978. Image provided by interviewee.
