Members from the research institute take care of a Himalayan goral cub they saved. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"Most of the villagers used to cut and sell forest wood," Yang Minghua, a former timber worker who now owns a guest-house, says. "No one wanted to change the trade at first. But we had unexpected great returns from the change."

He earns 200,000 yuan ($31,000) a year now, almost a 10-fold growth in revenue from his wood-cutting business earlier.

The district also promotes the idea of environmental protection to them. Now Yang would market his lodging for "it's all eco-friendly."

More than 2,000 families have moved out from the forest in the last two decades like Yang has. Forest volume has expanded by 200,000 cubic meters per year. Now, 96 percent of Shennongjia's conservation area is covered in green, according to official statistics.

As for the monkeys, their population grew to 1,280 in the 2005 head count. That number is expected to increase even more when the next head count is tallied next year.

More scientific monitoring that tracks the creatures' lifestyle and health is done every day, with the help of infrared cameras that dot the mountain. A new science lab specifically studies the behavior and needs of the rare monkeys.

Moreover, in one of their protection bases where some 80 monkeys live (in families and one guarding the group much like humans), 15 infants were born this year. All survived.

"It is the happiest thing for us," says the research institute's Yang. "It is the best news in 10 years."

More will be done for the monkeys as well as the general Shennongjia environment in the future, as a database on all the district's flora and fauna is being prepared. Experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Forestry Sciences and other institutes are also participating in the endeavor.

"We hope to establish an ID system for plants and animals here," Deng Tao, a participating expert from CAS says. "Shennongjia is a valuable eco-system that houses almost all important species in Asia."

"And when we know the place better, we can better protect the entire environment," he says.