The Baima is a minority group of about 1,400 people. They have lived in Northern Sichuan and Southern Gansu Provinces for centuries. They have long depended on the forests as their main source of income. But since a ban on cutting down forests was introduced in the late 1990s to fight yearly flooding, the villagers have had to look for other means of earning a living. Several are now in the process of developing a small tourism industry as their lands are rich in forests and natural scenery and are the home of the giant pandas. Xiangshujia, in particular, is becoming a popular bed and breakfast centre for tourists heading to Wanglang to see the giant pandas. Visitors are also starting to take notice of the Baima people themselves. As our jeep stopped in the courtyard of a house, we were greeted by the village leader Li Qin and young Baima girls dressed in traditional costumes with white feathers in their hair. As we took our places on wooden benches near an open fire, the girls began to sing traditional songs as they served us. "The number of tourists is growing," said Li Qin. "We realize that to attract visitors we have to show our culture by offering more traditional singing and dancing and ensuring our houses are built in the traditional way." Relations between the Baima people and the reserve were once tense following the ban on cutting down forests. Villagers had to make a new living. They entered the Wanglang Nature Reserve to collect wild mushrooms and herbs  , often at the expense of disturbing the pandas' habitat. But things greatly improved as villagers started receiving training in how to sell things to tourists. "Our aim was to deter the villagers, because they often disturbed the pandas' habitat, and to ensure they could have a long-lasting means of earning a living," emphasized Chen Youping, director of the Wanglang Nature Reserve. "All the money from the reserve goes back into the community and conservation projects," said Chen. "We take into consideration first the animals and then tourism." We can infer that the Baima girls wore their traditional costumes to greet visitors mainly because   _  .
they wanted to look more beautiful their leader Li Qin asked them to do so it was a way to show their culture to attract visitors it was necessary before they sang traditional songs