This movie had created a huge storm in China, not so much because of the content of the movie, but where it was shot:

The site selected was a provincial natural reserve, which is equivalent to the protected area for endangered/threatened species at the state level. Although it is not at federal/national level, natural reserves like this are still entitled to every status like those national/federal natural reserves, and the only difference was that the majority of the funds are from provincial level, instead of national/federal level.

Under the excuse of economic development, the local officials ignored the environmental protection law and openly breaking the law by allowing the natural reserve to be used in the filming of this movie, so that the local government could make a big buck.

This true story behind the camera resulted in much greater drama in the real life by triggering series of debate, but the question was still left unanswered:

Half of the income paid by the movie company were indeed put into funds for this natural reservation, and the amount is already more than the annual budget. The local government claimed that by doing so, it would make up for the problem of inadequate funding and thus protecting the natural reserve better. However, most people believed that such practice is actually destructive because it ruined the natural environment first, and the rebuild later would never be able to return the natural reserve to its original state.

The dilemma is still lingering in China long after it first appeared by the shooting of this movie and there is still not a perfect answer.