A site usually has to demolish a lot of existing buildings to "restore the ecosystem". A county in Guizhou, which I visited a year before it got on the major-league list, razed cheap hotels, a school and many residential houses at a cost of tens of millions of yuan before it submitted the application. Sanqingshan, a new entry on the list, converted the hotels to dormitories for field workers.
I'm not defending the develop-at-all-cost camp. I'm just saying it's really hard to sit down and listen to all sides and then go about making the right decision. Local officials want to develop tourism. Of all the reasons at least one is noble - to help the people live a better life. Wrongly or not, they are using the UNESCO title as a free pass, while paying lip service to all the wonderful words embraced by environmental protectionists. Are they being hypocritical or is it the only choice they have?
If I had tens of millions to splurge, I wouldn't necessarily go for the prestige of a UNESCO listing. Instead, I would invite a bunch of writers from Lonely Planet, Fodor's and Frommer's, among other travel guides, and treat them to a good time at my place. Once I gain an entry into their books and possibly get a recommendation, foreign tourists will swarm in. Then China's own adventure seekers and active travelers will follow. Eventually the charter flights and tour buses will arrive, bringing in millions of customers of package deals.
That's why Mount Songshan and its Shaolin Temple do not need the extra help of UNESCO. They already have so many visitors and kungfu master wannabes that they are rolling in cash, shaved heads, sinewy torsos and all. As a matter of fact, Shi Yongxin, the abbot, is often addressed as "CEO".
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