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Culture for tradition's sake

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-24 07:46

Zhao Lihong, a CPPCC member, recently proposed a large-scale amusement park based on the classic literary work Journey to the West in a bid to give Chinese children a homemade theme park that can compete with Disney Land.

It's a good idea to capitalize on traditional culture, such as the legend about a monk and his three disciples on the road to obtain Buddhist religious texts from India.

It links the entertainment industry with our rich cultural resources. With the boom in building amusement parks across China, we have built few parks that are culturally rich and have their own uniqueness.

But it seems pointless to build such a park just to compete with Disneyland. For one thing, Disney, as a world famous brand, has already nurtured mature business operating models and consumers; for another, Disney's success hasn't happened without huge investment. As a developing country, China lacks the requisite cash.

In recent years, strong demand has emerged in China for the protection of traditional culture. But protecting it doesn't necessarily mean rivaling foreign cultures. A park is built solely for the entertainment of the public. If it is labeled as a tool to rival foreign cultures right from the beginning of its construction, it will founder under the weight of unnecessary burdens.

(China Daily 03/24/2009 page8)