Cash over cachet[1]_其他_趣味英语-查字典英语网

Cash over cachet[1]

While in Yunnan, I was once caught in the crossfire between a conservationist and a growth-first pragmatist. I was their mutual friend. They were debating the pros and cons of building dams along an important waterway. As you may have guessed it, the one who wanted to improve the lives of local citizens by developing local industry was born in a village near a dam, and the one who wanted to keep the pristine beauty of the land was from Beijing. Both were ardent, and both had valid points.

Theoretically there should be a balance between protection and development. In reality, few know where the fine line is. Tourism is touted as the "smokeless" industry that has numerous benefits and few drawbacks. If you apply some thought to the controversy, you'll find that conventional wisdom may not hold water. A few years ago, there was news of a developer who wanted to build a dragon-like structure along a mountain ridge. The public was appalled and the project was halted. Later a Shandong county got approval to build a mammoth city over a large swath of mountains, which it billed as the future "cultural capital of China". Again, the public response was predominantly critical. The sentiment was: Leave nature alone, don't add a human touch.

But when you tour Mount Wudang, it's the man-made structures that are hailed as the landmarks and highlights of a tour. With a few exceptions such as Jiuzhaigou, where nature alone is enough to be a selling point, most places sell because of the embellishments, rather than nature itself. And don't even think of citing the Great Wall. It was a white elephant that failed to fend off invaders and a major scratch on Earth's back.