Chinese Bigfoot Expedition: What the News is not Reporting

The Shennongjia Nature Reserve in China's Hubei Province,

The Chinese Bigfoot expedition is all over the news. Mostly, it is the same report literally reprinted word-for-word. While the headlines sayBigfoot, the copy says otherwise:

A group of 38 experts from several universities and research institutions will begin the expedition on July 8, according to a statement from the Shennongjia Nature Reserve's management bureau.

 The trip is scheduled to last through August, the statement said.

The group will focus on studying the region's animals, plants and land features and will publish its research results later, it said.

Even GhostTheory.com seems to marginalize the Bigfoot aspect:

Is China taking the lead in Crypto-Zoology research? Well, no probably not...While the expedition being launched is not necessarily specific to Yeren research, at least it is acknowledged to be a potential item on the agenda.

As you loyal readers of Bigfoot Lunch Club may remember, this is a large effort specifically in search of the Yeren. Two years ago on October 9th of 2010 we announced, "Scientists to look for China's Bigfoot" and followed up with, "Chinese Plan to find Bigfoot is muddy"

The gist of both articles was that the Hubei Wild Man Research Association is very serious about the the Yeren search and completely devoted. The Founder, Wang Shancai is quoted with specific details:

"We encourage any companies, social groups and the public to donate or cooperate with us and contribute to the reso-lution of this long-term mystery," said Wang, who is also a researcher with the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.

The planned year-long exploration needs 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) and some 50 people to work in small teams.

The exploration will focus on the area around the Shennongjia Natural Reserve, a 76,950-hectare forest in Hubei Province. Wireless cameras will be installed in caves to capture tracks of Bigfoot.

This is the same Wang Shancai who is heading the expedition you are reading about in today's news, he also part of the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics. And this is the same Hubei Wild Man Research Association from which the vice-president, Luo Baosheng claims, "(we are) comprised of more than 100 scientists and explorers who have been chasing the ape-like animal for years. The last time a organized search took place was in the early 1980s,"
So don't let the watered down media fool you into thinking this is a small undergoing. It is a $1.5 million year-long expedition to find the Chinese Bigfoot known as the Yeren.