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Give nature the much needed break

By Op Rana (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-27 07:39

From snowy peaks to lapping seas, from sandy deserts to verdant greens, China has a world full of natural treasure. This natural beauty lay hidden from the rest of the world for a long time. Only a few like James Hilton (in his Lost Horizon) were able to capture the mystery of nature that is China.

With the passage of time, and the economic reform, these spots have opened their arms to overseas tourists. Nature lovers from across the world are welcome to bathe in the peace and tranquility of China's natural beauty.

Tourism in China has flourished like no one's business in the past three decades, and the country has become one of the most favored destinations on the international tourist map.

The bulk of tourists in China, however, are its own people. Take the Jiuzhaigou scenic spot in Sichuan province, for example. Almost all the more than 20,000 people who visit it every day are Chinese. Or, visit Dunhuang in Gansu province to realize just how travel crazy the Chinese have become.

Exploring new places is perhaps part of Chinese culture. They love them all, from the skyscrapers of Hong Kong and Shanghai to the mountains of Tibet, from the desert of Inner Mongolia to the dry, icy cold forests of Heilongjiang.

But this does not bode well for nature, especially because tourists are not educated enough not to disturb it and tourism officials seem interested only in counting the money. Tourism is big business, but just like any other commercial activity, it is full of pitfalls. Sadly, in this case it is the environment and not the businessman that suffers the consequences.

And then we have the ever mushrooming man-made structures polluting the visual environment.

The government realized this long ago. That is why it started moving out people, and hotels and other commercial establishments from the natural scenic spots in the western region in 2000. On its list were the UNSESCO World Heritage site of Jiuzhaigou, the Huangguoshu Waterfalls in Guizhou province, the Stone Forest in Kunming, Yunnan province, and Qingchenghshan-Dujiangyan scenic spot in Sichuan, which suffered a deadly blow in the May 12 earthquake.

All this is fine. But what about the eyesores created by the tourism authorities themselves? The structures they have allowed around Dianchi Lake in Kunming are nothing but repulsive. And why does "A Pearl on the Plateau" stink?

Entrance fees to most of the natural scenic spots in the country are high. So one would expect the authorities to use the revenue not only to protect the environment, but also to educate the tourists. Sadly, experience tells us that that has not been the case.

Let's take Dunhuang as an example. Most of the tourists are drawn to the city because of the Mogao Grottoes. But Dunhuang has much more than that: the Jiayuguan and Yangguan passes, the remains of the Great Wall, the Yadan Landforms and the Mingsha Shan (Booming Sand Mountain).

The last two are among the most fascinating, but possibly the least-visited, natural scenic spots in China. Nestled among the Mingsha Shan sand dunes is the Crescent Moon Lake. Its water has not dried up in centuries, if not millenniums. It was one of the reasons why Dunhuang became such an important stop on the ancient Silk Road. But if things continue as they have for the past few years, it could dry up in the next few years.

Fortunately, a pavilion protects the spring from one side. But tourists ignore signs of not climbing beyond a point on the dune facing it on the other side because they are not bothered about sand rolling down into it. As if that was not enough, parents encourage their children to ignore warnings, of not playing in its water, and turn it into an aquatic park. Plastic bottles and wrappers lie scattered around the lake, choking it further toward an untimely death.

If such activities are not stopped immediately, we will be left only with the artificial lake that the authorities have dug nearby.

And if experience is anything to go by, we will soon be creating man-made natural scenic spots elsewhere too.

E-mail: oprana@hotmail.com

(China Daily 06/27/2008 page8)