Jiuzhaigou, a World Heritage-listed scenic area
of outstanding beauty in southwest China's Sichuan Province, announced recently it will
turn down requests to conduct TV or film shooting in its scenic
spots beginning in 2007, Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.
The decision was made after a thorough and rigorous examination
of its main scenic spots, according to the area's
administration.
Experts with the Ministry of Construction say some of China's
world heritage sites are facing an increasingly serious threat, to
the point of irreversible destruction.
In the past, TV and film producers have destroyed the scenic
environment at Jiuzhaigou, including the shooting teams of The
Promise (Wu Ji), Stories of Heroes (Da
Qi Ying Xiong Zhuan) and The Legend of Condor Hero
(Shen Diao Xia Lu).
The crew of The Promise, for example, was accused of
littering and damaging vegetation near the pristine Bigu Lake in
Shangri-la county, a scenic natural reserve known as human paradise
in southwest China's Yunnan Province, while the Condor
Hero crew caused heavy pollution in the Jiuzhaigou National
Forest Park in southwest Sichuan Province.
The producers of the Stories of Heroes were recently
criticized by Pan Yue, deputy director of State Environmental
Protection Administration, for arbitrarily painting the Moya Stone
Inscriptions in a scenic area in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province.
In May 2006, producers of The Promise were fined 90,000
yuan (US$11,250) for their shameful environmentally insensitive
behavior.
"In the wake of the destruction of a pristine Shangri-la
lakeside by a film shooting crew, many scenic areas in China have
taken measures to protect the environment," said Feng Gang, deputy
director of the Jiuzhaigou Administraion.
Jiuzhaigou was among the 33 World Heritage sites, including E'Mei
Mountain and Huangshan Mountain, to jointly sign a manifesto at the
end of 2006, pledging to prioritize protection over exploitation
and to accept public and media supervision by publicizing any
commercial and film shooting activities.
On March 3, construction authorities in central China's Hubei Province announced that TV and film
shooting will be banned in 30 provincial-level scenic spots,
including Donghu Lake, Wudang Mountain, and Qingjiang River.
To prevent further environmental destruction by film crews, the
State Environmental Protection Administration, the Ministry of
Construction, the Ministry of Culture and the State Administration
of Cultural Heritage jointly released a new regulation on March 1,
2007 to restrict film shooting and artistic performances in these
areas.
According to the regulation, film shooting and artistic
performances will only be allowed in experimental zones of nature
reserves, outer sections of scenic spots and some cultural heritage
sites, upon approval from relevant authorities.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Construction has revised regulations
relating to the protection of scenic spots. Companies and
individuals that significantly damage scenery, vegetation, and
landforms will now be fined between 500,000 yuan (US$62,500) and 1
million yuan(US$130,000).
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(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2007)
