Jiuzhaigou, a World Heritage-listed scenic area of outstanding
beauty in southwest China's Sichuan Province, announced recently it
will turn down request to conduct TV or film shooting in its scenic
spots beginning in 2007, state media Xinhua News Agency reported
Tuesday.
The decision was made after a thorough and rigorous examination
on 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 increasing serious threat, or
even irreversible destruction.
In particular, some TV and film producers have destroyed the
scenic environment at these sites, such as 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 shooting 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 non-environmental behaviors.
"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, if
any.
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).
(China Daily March 7, 2007)