The ecological and visual landscape of
Huangshan
Mountain, a renowned scenic spot in East China's
Anhui
Province, is under threat due to excessive construction.
The myriad building projects - including hotels, shops and
entertainment centers - have not been curtailed in the mountain
area, according to a recent report by China Central
Television.
Also, an ambitious water-introducing project involves the building
of a second reservoir at the mountain's largest water source -
Wuliqiao - to meet the increasing demand for water by tourist
facilities.
Work on the planned dam for the reservoir has destroyed nearby
vegetation and contaminated waterways with sand and earth,
according to the survey.
The management committee of Huangshan Mountain, an official
department under the local municipal government in charge of local
environmental protection and tourism development, yesterday
admitted the ongoing projects did, to some degree, harm the local
environment but insisted the projects strictly observed the
national environmental protection standards.
"These construction programs mostly belong to innovation efforts,"
said He Shenyang, a senior official with the committee. The local
authority currently has no plans to stop such projects.
"The efforts will not increase the occupation of the mountain
area," He said.
According to He, the reservoir will also provide more water for
irrigation and fire-fighting during droughts.
However, Xie Ninggao, an environmental and tourist expert at Peking
University, sees the continuous construction as a serious
problem.
Officials with the National Tourism Administration yesterday said
they have noticed the excessive construction in Huangshan and will
carry out further investigations.
(China
Daily February 27, 2002)