Food base to solve a jumbo-size problem

Jinghong, in Southwest China's Yunnan province, will soon open a food source base especially developed for Asian elephants, in a bid to reduce conflicts between humans and the animal.

The project, with investment of 1 million yuan ($155,000), kicked off in December and was completed in May. The base, which covers three townships across 67 hectares, has grown some of the elephants' favorite plants, including 38,000 musa basjoo trees, a species of banana.

Construction workers also built several ponds and added 2 metric tons of salt to meet the elephants' mineral needs.