Heritage sites at risk from overexploitation

With the inclusion of Gulangyu Island, called Kulangsu in the local dialect and known for its well-preserved historical buildings, and Hol Xil, a plateau famous for its natural beauty and biodiversity, China now has 52 sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, which was established to safeguard unique and irreplaceable cultural and natural sites around the world. The decisions, announced on the weekend, should not only be seen as another reason for the Chinese people to take pride in their history and culture, but also a reason to take pride in the conservation efforts that enabled these two sites to meet the selection criteria. Their inclusion means only Italy, with 53, has more sites on the list.

This feat has not been easy, given that China only became a signatory to the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1985, and each country is allowed to nominate only two sites each year.

Behind the successful bids to get the 52 sites inscribed on the list have been strenuous government efforts to protect the nation’s natural, historical and cultural heritages, which have been under threat during the country’s rapid development.

Take Hol Xil for example, the government established a nature reserve on the plateau in Qinghai province in 1997, in order to protect its fragile ecosystem and combat the rampant poaching of the endangered Tibetan antelope, whose numbers have recovered from 15,000 in 1998 to 60,000 today.

Yet unfortunately, many sites in China already inscribed on UNESCO’s heritage list are facing increasing threats from commercialism and lack of adequate protection as local officials see them only as a major source of tourism revenues.

To accommodate the influx of tourists, hotels and infrastructure facilities are being built in some sites, many with safety hazards and at the cost of the local people’s traditional lifestyles. Fires in 2013 and 2014, for example, caused irreversible damage to the old town of Lijiang, a cultural site in Yunnan province.

China’s increasing number of heritage sites makes it imperative that the country improve its preservation capabilities, in terms of heritage site management and its legal framework, to better protect its rich natural and cultural resources.

Yet a country’s World Heritage sites, which exhibit the best of its natural beauty, human values and cultural traditions, belong to all humankind, and it is the responsibility of not only the government, but every citizen to ensure they can be enjoyed by future generations.

A video showing the automobiles giving way to the ambulance, one by one, has gone viral online, as it is in sharp contrast with most people’s personal experience.

Many drivers cannot tolerate even a slight compromise to their “rights” on the road. Once behind the wheel, these drivers seem to suffer from selective amnesia, forgetting the basic rules of the road, and any etiquette or courtesy that they may display at other times.

Even though the traffic laws and regulations stipulate that automobiles should give way to pedestrians and non-motor vehicle users, nearly 4,000 people have lost their lives on pedestrian crossings in the past three years, 90 percent of which were the drivers’ responsibility, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

In March, in Jinan, East China’s Shandong province, a car intentionally passed an ambulance and impeded its progress for more than two minutes after the ambulance carrying a patient suffering a severe head injury overtook it. The car driver changed from one lane to another and kept braking. After the ambulance overtook the car again by driving on a section of the sidewalk, the car driver lowered his window and verbally abused the ambulance driver.

The driver of the car received just three penalty points and a fine of 200 yuan ($29).

China has more than 200 million vehicles on its roads and more than 320 million drivers. It is high time the traffic laws and rules were amended to increase the severity of penalties meted out to drivers for dangerous driving.