A spokesman for Fujian provincial legislature said the regulation passed recently would help protect the mountain and regulate commercial development.

The mountain was put on the UN list in 1999 for its resources of endangered plants and animals for ancient relics dating back 3, 000 years.

According to the law, protection of the mountain should come first, and scientific and commercial development and construction should only go ahead on the condition the mountain's heritage is fully protected.

The regulation authorizes local governments to set up a special task force to manage heritage resources, and a ceiling on the number of tourists on the mountain if necessary.

Anyone caught breaking the law would face criminal prosecution.

Formulation of the regulation began in early 2000, partly in response to criticism and warning by experts at home and abroad of excessive commercial development in some tourist destinations on the United Nations' heritage list.

(China Daily June 9, 2002)