Tibet vows to put ecology over growth

The region received 33.68 million visits from tourists last year, an increase of 31.5 percent year-on-year. Wu said media reports on the waste disposal problem in the reserve have drawn attention from the central government and that the recent ban was made based on China's law on environmental protection and to better protect Qomolangma's fragile ecosystem.

Tibet has always assigned great importance to removing garbage from the Qomolangma (also known as Mount Everest), Wu said.