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Chapter I. General provisions

Article 1 In order to strengthen the construction and management of nature reserves and protect the natural environment and natural resources, these regulations are formulated.

Article 2 A nature reserve, as referred to in these Regulations, is an area of land, land water or sea where representative natural ecosystems, natural concentrated distribution areas of rare and endangered species of wild animals and plants, natural relics of special significance and other objects of protection are located, in which a certain area is set aside for special protection and management in accordance with the law.
Article 3 All construction and management of nature reserves in the territory of the People's Republic of China and other maritime areas under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China must comply with these Regulations.

Chapter II. Construction of nature reserves

Article 10 Where one of the following conditions exists, a nature reserve shall be established:

a. Typical natural geographic areas, areas of representative natural ecosystems, and areas of similar natural ecosystems that have been damaged but can be restored through protection;

b. Areas of natural concentration of rare and endangered species of wild flora and fauna;

c. Seas, coasts, islands, wetlands, inland waters, forests, grasslands and deserts of special conservation value;

d. Geological formations, famous caves, fossil distribution areas, glaciers, volcanoes, hot springs and other natural geosites of great scientific and cultural value;

e. Other natural areas in need of special protection as approved by the State Council or the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the Central Government.

Article 18 Nature reserves can be divided into core, buffer and experimental areas.

The well-preserved ecosystems in their natural state as well as the concentration of rare, endangered animals and plants within a nature reserve shall be designated as the core area, which shall be off-limits to any unit or individual; nor shall they be allowed to enter to engage in scientific research activities, except with approval in accordance with the provisions of Article 27 of these Regulations.
A buffer zone of a certain size may be delineated on the periphery of the core area, with access permitted only for scientific research and observation activities.

The periphery of the buffer zone is designated as an experimental zone, which can be accessed to engage in activities such as scientific experiments, teaching internships, study tours, tourism, and domestication and breeding of rare and endangered wildlife and plants.

The people's government that originally approved the establishment of a nature reserve may, if it deems it necessary, delineate a certain area of peripheral protection zone at the periphery of the nature reserve.

Chapter III. Management of nature reserves

Article 25 Units, residents and persons authorised to enter a nature reserve must abide by the various management systems of the nature reserve and accept the management of the nature reserve's management body.

Article 26 It is prohibited to carry out activities such as logging, grazing, hunting, fishing, medicine picking, reclamation, burning, mining, quarrying, sand digging, etc., in the nature reserves; however, unless otherwise provided for by laws and administrative regulations.

Article 27 It is prohibited for anyone to enter the core areas of nature reserves. Where it is necessary to enter the core area to engage in scientific research observation or investigation activities due to the needs of scientific research, an application and plan of activities shall be submitted in advance to the management agency of the nature reserve and approved by the relevant administrative department of the people's government of a provincial level or above in respect of the nature reserve; among them, entry into the core area of a national-level nature reserve must be approved by the relevant administrative department of the State Council in respect of the nature reserve.
If it is really necessary for the original residents in the core area of a nature reserve to move out, the local people's government where the nature reserve is located shall make proper resettlement.

Article 28 It is prohibited to carry out tourism and production and business activities in the buffer zones of nature reserves. If it is necessary to enter the buffer zone of a nature reserve to engage in non-destructive scientific research, teaching practice and specimen collection activities for the purpose of teaching and research, an application and an activity plan shall be submitted to the management organ of the nature reserve in advance and approved by the management organ of the nature reserve.
Units and individuals engaged in the activities in the preceding paragraph shall submit copies of the results of their activities to the management body of the nature reserve.

Article 29 Where visiting and tourism activities are to be carried out in the experimental areas of state-level nature reserves, the nature reserve management bodies shall put forward a proposal, which shall be examined and approved by the relevant administrative department of the nature reserve of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government, and then submitted to the relevant administrative department of the nature reserve under the State Council for approval; where visiting and tourism activities are to be carried out in the experimental areas of local-level nature reserves, the nature reserve management bodies shall put forward a proposal that shall be approved by the relevant nature reserve administrative department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government.
Where visits and tourism activities are organised in a nature reserve, they must be carried out in accordance with the approved programme and management must be strengthened; units and individuals entering a nature reserve for visits and tourism should obey the management of the nature reserve's management agency.

It is strictly prohibited to open visiting and tourism programmes that are inconsistent with the direction of nature reserve protection.

Article 31 Where a foreigner enters a local-level nature reserve, the receiving unit shall report in advance to the relevant nature reserve administrative department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government for approval; where a foreigner enters a national-level nature reserve, the receiving unit shall report to the relevant nature reserve administrative department of the State Council for approval.

Foreigners entering a nature reserve shall abide by the laws, regulations and provisions relating to nature reserves.

Article 32 No production facilities may be built in the core and buffer zones of nature reserves. Within the experimental areas of nature reserves, no production facilities that pollute the environment or damage resources or landscapes may be built; for the construction of other projects, their pollutant emissions shall not exceed the pollutant emission standards stipulated by the State and local authorities. Facilities that have already been built in experimental areas of nature reserves and whose pollutant emissions exceed the national and local standards for pollutant emissions shall be dealt with within a limited period of time; if damage is caused, remedial measures must be taken.
Projects constructed in the peripheral protection zones of nature reserves shall not harm the quality of the environment within the nature reserves; where damage has been caused, it shall be addressed within a limited period of time.

The decision on the treatment for a limited period of time shall be made by the organ prescribed by laws and regulations, and the enterprise or institution subject to the treatment for a limited period of time must complete the treatment task by the deadline.

Article 33 Units and individuals that have caused or may cause pollution or damage to a nature reserve due to an accident or other sudden event must take immediate measures to deal with the situation, promptly notify the units and residents that may be endangered, and report to the management body of the nature reserve, the local administrative department of environmental protection, and the administrative department of the nature reserve to be investigated and dealt with.

Chapter IV. Legal liability

Article 34 Any unit or individual that violates the provisions of these regulations and commits any of the following acts shall be ordered by the management body of the nature reserve to make corrections and may be fined from RMB 100 to RMB 5000 depending on the circumstances:

a. Unauthorised movement or destruction of nature reserve boundary markers;

b. Entering a nature reserve without permission or disobeying the management organisation in a nature reserve;

c. Units and individuals approved to engage in scientific research, teaching practice and specimen collection in the buffer zone of a nature reserve do not submit copies of the results of their activities to the nature reserve management agency.

Article 35 Units and individuals that violate the provisions of these Regulations by carrying out activities such as logging, grazing, hunting, fishing, medicine picking, reclamation, burning, mining, quarrying, sand digging, etc., in a nature reserve, except for those that may be punished in accordance with the provisions of the relevant laws and administrative regulations, shall be subject to the confiscation of the illegal proceeds by the competent department of the people's government concerned with the administration of the nature reserve at or above the county level, or the nature reserve management agency authorised by the people's government concerned, and shall be instructed to stop the unlawful acts, and to restore the original state or take other remedial measures within a specified period of time; where damage is caused to the nature reserve, a fine of not less than 300 yuan and not more than 10,000 yuan may be imposed.
Article 36 If a nature reserve management organ violates the provisions of these Regulations by refusing to be supervised and inspected by the administrative department of environmental protection or the administrative department of the nature reserve concerned, or by making false statements when being inspected, it shall be subject to a fine of not less than 300 yuan and not more than 3,000 yuan by the administrative department of environmental protection of the people's government at or above the county level or the administrative department of the nature reserve concerned.
Article 37 Where a nature reserve management organ violates the provisions of these Regulations by engaging in any of the following acts, it shall be ordered by the competent administrative department of the people's government at or above the county level concerned with the nature reserve to make corrections within a certain period of time; for the personnel directly responsible, they shall be subjected to administrative sanctions by their respective units or higher authorities:

a. Unauthorised visits and tourism activities in nature reserves;

b. The opening of visits and tours that are inconsistent with the direction of conservation of the nature reserve;

c. Failure to carry out visits and tours in accordance with the approved programme.

Article 38 Where a violation of the provisions of these Regulations causes damage to a nature reserve, the administrative department of the relevant nature reserve of the people's government at or above the county level shall order compensation for the damage.

Article 39 Anyone who obstructs the management personnel of a nature reserve in the performance of their official duties shall be punished by the public security organs in accordance with the provisions of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Public Security Administration Punishments; if the circumstances are serious enough to constitute a criminal offence, criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with the law.

Article 40 If violation of the provisions of these Regulations results in a major pollution or destruction accident in a nature reserve, leading to serious consequences of major loss of public or private property or personal injury or death, and constitutes a crime, the directly responsible supervisory personnel and other directly responsible personnel shall be held criminally liable in accordance with the law.

Article 41 If the management personnel of a nature reserve abuse their authority, neglect their duties, or engage in malpractice for personal gain, which constitutes a crime, they shall be held criminally liable according to law; if the circumstances are minor and do not yet constitute a crime, the unit in which they are employed or their superior organ shall give them an administrative sanction.