An International Wild Camel Protection and Research Centre has been built 200 kilometers from Dun Huang in Gansu Province. This initiative has been supported by Professor Liu Shaochang of the Institute of Remote Sensing, Chinese Academy of Sciences and will serve as an international forum for scientists and wild camel experts. A growing threat to the wild camel in its heartland, the Aqike Valley, is the growing number of Chinese tourists who enter the desert and do not stick to recognised tracks. The Centre also serves as a check-point to stop tourists who have not paid the required fee from entering the desert.
