New yacht helps enhance tourist legal awareness

A new energy double-decker yacht has been upgraded by Beijing Pinggu District People's Court as a mobile vehicle to introduce laws, in an effort to enhance residents' legal awareness to protect the environment.

As the capital's only yacht driven by a lithium battery, it was set up in the district's Jinhai Lake, a popular tourist resort, on Tuesday. In 2022, the scenic area received 400,000 tourists and, during the May Day holiday this year, it saw 41,625 tourists, according to news portal ThePaper.cn.

Two judges from the Jinhai Lake Court under the Pinggu Court and four workers from the Jinhai Lake Scenic Area are volunteers who will offer visitors with legal services in this yacht.

In the yacht, visitors will not only learn knowledge concerning ecology and environment through posters, but also interact with a robot to further understand relevant laws, such as why China designated the National Ecology Day, what the "green development" is in the Civil Code and how judges solve environmental lawsuits.

"Our aim is to make law knowledge more obtainable to tourists, helping them enhance their legal awareness during trips and promote tourism development of the lake," the Pinggu court said.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, designated Aug 15 as the National Ecology Day, as the country strives to enhance environmental conservation for the construction of an ecological civilization.

Chinese courts have also strengthened case hearings of environment and ecology over the past decade, with harsher punishments to polluters and various measures to protect biodiversity.