An artistic rendering of Xi'an Daming Palace National Heritage Park.

But he noted that spending a massive amount to rebuild the palace was ill-conceived, adding that the local government is shortsighted regarding the value of Daming Palace, which is possibly worth a spot on the World Cultural Heritage list.

"Some local governments are blindly following suit," he said.

The demolition of the artificial tourist sites came after the Danxia Landform in 6 localities and the historic architectural complex of the Shaolin Temple in Central Henan Province were added to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list early this month.