Shuangqiaoguo was the first gully to witness the influx of tourists. There was no entrance fee back then and the tourism development was welcome by the villagers as it provided them opportunities to cash in by:

· Providing mules and guiding services
· Selling food and souvenirs
· Offering accommodation within the gully

The villagers were still positive despite having to (now) pay for electricity, not allowed to harvest wood for fire and having their pastureland greatly restricted.

However later on, entrance fee was introduced and a concrete road was built through the gully with bus services were provided by the management company. With this they were no longer allowed to provide mule and guiding services; this used to be their major tourism income. In return they were promised a small percentage of the door collection. The entrance fee had progressively increased through the years but the villagers had never collected any of the collection being promised by the management company. Their unhappiness is only slightly compensated by new employment opportunities as staff of the park.

A slightly different story unfolds at the other 2 gullies, Changping and Haizi. Both these gullies are within walking distances from Rilong. The two villages that traditionally make their living within the gullies are also close-by. As there are still no concrete roads and so no bus services within them (except a short ride in the former), each of the villages is allowed to continue provide mule services to tourists within each of the gully (each villager who wants to provide services must queue up for their turn. Apart from the peak season, this could mean getting their turn every 2-3 days. They also have to give a commission to the management company for providing the queuing service). Due to their proximity to the town, they are also more successful in selling souvenirs and other herbs that are collected from the mountains.

Now that the area had been designated a UNESCO site, there are plans by the management company to build roads within the gully, just like they did in Shuangqiaoguo. The villagers are watching very warily such developments. They are aware that the roads will change their livelihood as well as the broken promises of compensation. The only consolidation they are hoping for is the increased number of tourists resulting in better sales of souvenirs and so on.

Links: Siguniang Travel Guide.