The impact of the opening of the Yangtze River Tunnel and Bridge on Chongming Tourism An article of about 1,000 words

OMG This is too difficult. It’s 1,000 words. I found some on the Internet.

Since the Yangtze River Tunnel and Bridge were officially opened to traffic on October 31, the completion and opening of the Yangtze River Tunnel and Bridge has had a great impact on Chongming tourism. The stimulating effect was immediate. A sharp increase in passenger flow poured into Chongming Island every day, and there was a peak of private cars on weekends. This made it difficult to use the toilet, park, drive, and eat on the island, and the tourist experience was also greatly reduced.

Shen Yongping, director of the Chongming Tourism Bureau, said frankly in an interview with a reporter from the Morning Post yesterday that although the number of tourists has increased significantly since the opening of the tunnel and bridge a week ago, the impact on Chongming's economy has been very limited.

According to distribution centers and travel agencies, most of the current tourists to Chongming are middle-aged and elderly people. The consumption they can drive in a day is only 40 to 80 yuan per person. In the long run, they will not contribute to Chongming tourism. Bring great promotion effect.

Industry insiders say that “Chongming’s tunnel-bridge boom may only last for half a year.” Industry insiders call on Chongming tourism to focus on protecting the ecological environment and build a number of supporting facilities for leisure and vacation, thereby extending the tunnel-bridge effect. .

Current situation:

70% are middle-aged and elderly tourists

From November 1 to yesterday, the number of tourists visiting Chongming via the Tunnel and Bridge has reached 300,000 The number of visitors exceeded the reception volume in the two months before the opening of the tunnel and bridge. The "blowout" of the eco-island tourism industry has greatly exceeded expectations, and problems such as insufficient supply of accommodation and catering on the island have occurred.

According to statistics from the Chongming County Tourism Bureau, on November 1st alone, scenic spots such as Dongtan Bird Nature Reserve, Dongping National Forest Park, Xisha Wetland, Mingzhu Lake Park, and Qianwei Village received as many as 70,000 people, equivalent to half of the cumulative passenger flow in the eight days of the National Day Golden Week, setting a record for the highest number of tourists received on Chongming Day. At the same time, from November 1 to 8, the Shanghai Tourism Distribution Center has sent a total of 1,722 tourists on the Chongming Tourism Line.

Although the situation is encouraging, according to relevant sources, 70% of the surge in tourists in recent days are middle-aged and elderly people over the age of 50. "Although the number of middle-aged and elderly tourists is large, their spending power is not strong." Senior tour guide Le Meixiao calculated an account for the reporter. Many elderly tourists bring their own dry food to travel, and during the day's tour, they also Just spend 20 yuan to buy some Chongming cakes and pumpkin shreds. Even if you have lunch on the island, you can only choose the standard of 25 yuan per person. Plus some attraction tickets, the per capita consumption is only 40 yuan to 80 yuan.

Shen Yongping, director of the Chongming Tourism Bureau, said, "Since the main attractions in Chongming, Dongtan, Xisha Wetland and museums are free, there is no ticket revenue. Most of the tourists who come recently are elderly and their spending power is limited. . This week, the sales of agricultural products and catering in Chongming have been good, while other parts have not seen significant growth.”

It is reported that some unqualified tour guides see the low prices of Chongming tours. I went to urban residential areas to attract people under the banner of "touring Chongming for 45 yuan", and rented a car to take tourists to Chongming. Such unscrupulous tour guides not only pose safety risks to tourists, but also disrupt tourism order. Staff from the Chongming Tourism Bureau said that in the future they will work with other departments to crack down on illegal tour guides.

Worry:

The island's ecology may be destroyed

Yesterday, the second weekend after the opening of the Yangtze River Tunnel and Bridge ended, and the second day of travel to Chongming The peak was also passed smoothly. Manager Chen from the operations department of Chongming Bus Company said that the passenger flow of the Shen-Chong Line yesterday dropped slightly compared with the previous day and the operation was stable.

According to statistics from the Chongming Tourism Bureau, there were more than 60,000 visitors to major scenic spots yesterday, a slight decrease from the day before. From November 1st to 8th, the number of tourists visiting Chongming exceeded 300,000, which is equivalent to the number of tourists visiting Chongming in the two months before the tunnel and bridge were opened. Half of these tourists visited Dongtan Wetland and Xisha Wetland.

Many citizens are worried that such a large number of passengers will have an adverse impact on Chongming’s ecology, especially on the survival of migratory birds in the wetlands. Le Meixiao, who has led groups to Chongming many times, also bluntly said that in the past, migratory birds could always be seen living in the reed swamps in Xisha and Dongtan. “But now the only people we see are people. The tourists not only scare away the migratory birds, but also leave them behind.” The ground is full of garbage.” Many tourists also suggested that Chongming should appropriately limit the flow of passengers.

Staff from the Chongming Tourism Bureau said that the migratory birds in Dongtan and Xisha Wetlands are in the core areas of the wetlands and are far away from the tourist areas and will not be affected. Therefore, there are no plans to restrict passenger flow for the time being.

However, wetlands belong to an ecological environment chain after all. Too much concentration of tourists will eventually damage the ecological environment. They recommend that citizens stagger their travel times and allow the water to flow slowly.

Tips:

Chongming develops leisure vacations

Zhang Jianquan, deputy general manager of Shanghai Travel Agency, told reporters that in the early days of the opening of the Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge and Sutong Bridge, Ningbo There are two buses available for a week's tour, but since the end of last year, only 100 individual tourists have participated in the Ningbo tour in almost a month. "After only half a year, this craze has gone silent. After all, the 'bridge effect' did not last long." Zhang Jianquan said frankly that the current passenger flow surge in Chongming is only due to the tunnel-bridge craze. Once the craze subsides, the direction of Chongming tourism will change. Where?

Relevant people from the Shanghai Tourism Distribution Center suggested that Chongming should be positioned as a leisure resort. “It takes less than 2 hours one way from the city to Chongming, and Chongming’s ecological landscape can also relax the body and mind of white-collar workers who have lived in the city for a long time. Therefore, compared with surrounding cities, Chongming is still quite competitive.”

Shen Yongping, director of the Chongming Tourism Bureau, also expressed the hope that Chongming can attract people with spending power, travel at different times, and try to reduce the number of attractions. pressure. To this end, they plan to build some four- and five-star hotels in the future. We will upgrade the farm food with Chongming characteristics to a more refined level. In addition, some new tourism projects will be developed to allow tourists to stay in Chongming for a longer period of time, thereby promoting Chongming's economic development.

It is reported that there are currently very few mid-to-high-end hotels in Chongming, and Shanghai Dongtan International Conference Center is the only five-star hotel in the county. There are only three three-star hotels (including three-star hotels). There are only more than 20 business and economical hotels that meet the standard, which cannot meet the needs of existing tourists.

A week after the Yangtze River Bridge

More than 40 accidents occurred

Someone took pictures every one or two hundred meters

Morning Post reporter Yang Jie< /p>

Correspondent Sun Guofu and Yu Dalei

The reporter learned from the Shanghai Traffic Police Department yesterday that according to preliminary statistics, more than 40 traffic accidents have occurred on the Yangtze River Bridge (including the toll gate) since the bridge was officially opened. Since then, most of them have been minor material damage accidents such as collisions and rear-end collisions when vehicles were competing for lanes at toll gates. In addition, accidents such as bicycle tire blowouts, bicycle spontaneous combustion, and rear-end collisions have occurred on the bridge deck, mainly due to the long use of vehicles, poor safety maintenance, excessive speed, and failure to maintain a safe distance between vehicles.

Yesterday, reporters saw at the Chenhai Highway toll gate that although there was still more than an hour before the 18:00 evening peak, the traffic flow back to the city had increased significantly, and some vehicles were approaching the toll gate. When entering the intersection, they frequently change lanes in order to choose a window with fewer queues. Some cars even change lanes three times in a row, which is a dangerous situation.

After a week of operation, the police found that the toll gate from Shanghai to Chongming is most likely to be congested during the morning rush hour on Saturdays, because many vehicles from Shanghai to Chongming pass through this period. Moreover, the change from three lanes to one lane near the toll gate may easily lead to minor vehicle collision accidents.

Chongming police stated that they hope that citizens can avoid rush hours as much as possible, and when driving on the road, they should maintain an appropriate speed and distance from the vehicles in front and drive patiently.

The reporter also found that every one or two hundred meters on the bridge, you can see a car parked, and at least five or six people taking pictures on the bridge. In this regard, the Chongming Traffic Police specially arranged two patrol cars to patrol along the uplink and downlink lines respectively. Once any vehicles parked illegally for sightseeing are found, they will persuade them through the loudspeaker, "For vehicles that do not leave immediately, we will follow the " The provisions of the Traffic Law will be strictly enforced," said Lu Min, the captain of the Chongming Traffic Police Brigade Highway Squadron.

At present, the traffic police department has installed 8 sets of electronic monitoring equipment to conduct electronic speed monitoring and law enforcement on road sections. The traffic police reminded drivers not to speed; once encountering special weather such as fog or strong wind, try to slow down as much as possible.

The body has not moved, but the mind is far away. This is the common sentiment of many urbanites when they think of the simple and tranquil natural scenery. Perhaps it is for this reason that after the Yangtze River Tunnel and Bridge were opened to traffic, Shanghai residents flocked to Chongming, and the popularity of Chongming tourism has not subsided to this day. However, a series of new problems followed with the surge in passenger flow: difficulty in parking, difficulty in using the toilet, difficulty in dining, etc. Next, can the Chongming tourism boom continue? How to do it better? This edition invites several scholars who are familiar with the situation in Chongming to share their observations and findings, which may give us some useful inspiration.

●Moderator: our reporter Liu Sen

●Guest: Lu Jianjian (tenured professor of the East China Normal University's Estuary and Coastal Science Research Institute)

< p>Lou Jiajun (Dean and Professor of the Tourism Department of East China Normal University)

This opportunity will never come again

Liu Sen: After the Yangtze River Tunnel and Bridge were opened to traffic, both of them have I’ve been to Chongming. How do you feel?

Lu Jianjian: Chongming and I can be said to be "old friends" who have known each other for a long time. I am one of the first batch of master’s students in our country after the Cultural Revolution, and my graduation thesis was about bird ecology in Chongming Dongtan. Later, in 1990, when the country was engaged in the construction of ecological counties, I participated in the formulation of the first ecological county plan in Chongming. After the Chongming Dongtan Bird National Nature Reserve was established in 1998, it successively participated in its ecological planning and construction, and has been engaged in on-site ecological restoration research in the Chongxi Wetland all year round. Starting last Saturday, I started a new round of permanent observations in Chongxi Wetland.

The opening of the Yangtze River Tunnel and Bridge has triggered a continued tourist craze in Chongming, which has exposed some problems in local tourism hardware facilities, including scenic spot management and service levels as software. But I personally don't think this is a "bad thing". This not only shows Shanghai citizens’ interest and affection for natural ecology, but also proves that Chongming’s eco-tourism market has great potential. For this reason, we should regard this passenger flow spurt as a good opportunity to promote the overall development of Chongming Ecological Island.

Lou Jiajun: I went there on a weekend two weeks after the tunnel and bridge were opened to traffic. I mainly visited an agricultural cooperative in Chenjia Town. The local area has further developed and implemented "farmhouse entertainment" The intention of the tourism project was to go to Xisha Wetland again. Because we drove there, one of the most immediate feelings after going there was that the local attraction signage system was not thoughtful enough. Along the way, we also saw many self-driving tourists stopping to ask for directions.

I think the tourist outflow that Chongming encountered this time reflects some problems. From a subjective point of view, I believe that the local government must have made preparations and plans for possible situations that may arise after the tunnel and bridge are opened. But it turned out that this preparation was not sufficient. At least for now, it seems that the existing tourist attractions in Chongming cannot adapt to the large flow of Shanghai citizens in terms of layout, number and capacity of attractions, structure and services of tourism products. In other words, judging from the current development pattern of Chongming tourism, it is basically no problem to meet the demand of tens of thousands of passengers per day during weekends or golden weeks in the past. However, once the passenger flow surges to tens of thousands per day today, it may face a huge reception Pressure, both in terms of hardware and software.

After the opening of the tunnel and bridge, it has greatly enhanced the convenience for Shanghai residents to visit Chongming. In this regard, Chongming is facing readjustment of the tourism market structure. What's more, now that tourists' expectations and needs have come to the forefront, Chongming must quickly keep up, conduct solid market research in a timely manner, and make more long-term considerations for future sustainable development. Especially for a travel product, the first impression and the reputation formed by word of mouth cannot be ignored. Don't miss this opportunity, it will never come again. This is a golden rule in the travel market.

Ecological protection is the prerequisite

Liu Sen: However, there seems to be a natural contradiction between ecological protection and tourism. Will the rapid increase in tourism demand put pressure on Chongming's existing ecological construction itself?

Lu Jianjian: I think there are two keys to whether you can answer this question well.

First, whether we can adhere to the original ecological planning in the process of tourism development. The protection regulations and management methods formulated specifically for national protected areas at the national level are obviously insurmountable constraints. But on the other hand, we still need to ensure that the construction process of nature reserves is not affected through the formulation of laws and regulations, and continue to improve our management of ecological reserves on this basis. I believe that as long as we adhere to the above two points, our ecological environment itself will have a reliable "golden bell". In addition, everyone can rest assured that our nature reserve actually has another set of "iron shirts". Take Dongtan Wetland as an example. At the beginning of its construction, it was scientifically divided into an experimental area that allows tourists to enter, a buffer area that allows professional scientific researchers to enter, and a core area that ensures biological safety and free habitat. This mechanism itself can control the impact of outsiders on the entire ecosystem within a sufficiently safe and reasonable range.

Second, we must more fully and completely realize the significance of wetland resources to human beings, and promote ecological construction itself as the fundamental prerequisite for all development intentions. Nowadays, whenever the function of wetlands is mentioned, it seems that people's first reaction is to protect birds. In fact, this is only part of the process of protecting biodiversity in wetlands. Among the core ecological functions of wetlands, alongside protecting biodiversity, are purifying the atmosphere and improving water quality. Wetlands, which now account for 2% of the world's total area, absorb as much carbon dioxide every day as the oceans, which account for 71% of the world's area. Faced with the reality that more than 80% of the drinking water for Shanghai residents will be provided by the Qingcaosha Reservoir in the future, the health of the ecological body of Chongming Wetland, which has the "obligation" to purify Qingcaosha and dozens of sandbanks above it, is even more significant. Furthermore, only if we can ensure the stable performance of the above-mentioned wetland functions can the leisure, vacation, fitness and wellness functions of Chongming Ecological Island be brought into play.

In my opinion, the current ecological construction of Chongming Island will involve four major projects. Among them, ecological engineering is an unavoidable prerequisite, and the goals must be clear and accepted regularly. Next to follow is environmental engineering. In addition to protected areas, Chongming Island also has small towns and some less polluting enterprises. Environmental projects supporting urbanization and agricultural modernization are indispensable. After that, come the ornamental garden landscape projects and civil engineering projects including transportation and tourist supporting facilities. The priority among the above four must be clearly distinguished and cannot be reversed at will. Only when these four major projects enter the track of healthy development can Chongming have a long-term and sustainable future. Ultimately, a place without environmental capacity is unproductive.

Limited impact on birds

Liu Sen: Everyone is still very concerned about whether the number of tourists entering the wetland scenic area has increased sharply, will all the birds be scared away?

Lu Jianjian: Indeed, Chongming Dongtan is an important stop on the Asia-Pacific migration route of migratory birds. After this discovery was established, we in the Yangtze River Estuary area, especially Shanghai, have the obligation to protect this inn. This not only involves the survival of more than 60 species and more than 2 million migratory birds. If we do not protect them well enough, it means that an important link in the survival chain of these migratory animals is missing. Because for birds, south of the Yangtze River Estuary, there is no more suitable place than Chongming Dongtan to stop and replenish energy.

However, there is no need to worry too much about the impact of increased passenger flow. First, as mentioned earlier, the wetland ecological reserve itself has a strict zoning system. The core area, reserved exclusively for birds, is inaccessible to ordinary tourists. Secondly, generally speaking, September to late October every year is the peak migration period of Asia-Pacific first-line birds. In other words, it is basically coming to an end. If there is any impact, it is very limited.

Exploring the connotation of ecological tourism

Liu Sen: After the opening of the tunnel and bridge, many tourists who went there with the purpose of experiencing the ecology reported that they did not get much. Professor Lou, is this due to lack of preparation in the local tourism market, or is it because our understanding of the connotation of eco-tourism itself is still shallow?

Lou Jiajun: It’s a combination of the above factors. In recent years, ecotourism has been a popular tourism concept internationally. Regarding the connotation of eco-tourism, the following two points of knowledge have basically been formed: First, eco-tourism has the dual functions of leisure and protection. In foreign countries, many eco-tourism activities themselves are also conscious environmental protection actions, such as picking up garbage along the way and doing something within their capabilities for local ecological construction. In this way, tourism activities themselves not only emphasize tourists' practice of social responsibilities, but also emphasize the experiential and interactive nature of tourism activities themselves. They will also be based on satisfying people's desire to communicate with nature and purify their souls during the tourism process. It’s no longer just about “watching the fun”. Second, ecotourism emphasizes allowing local residents to create and harvest economic value through tourism activities under the premise of moderate development. Judging from the above two points, the so-called "ecotourism" we are currently surrounded by is just a label and has no more substantive connotations.

The same is true for Chongming today. The opening of tunnels and bridges only solves traffic problems. Next, we must think about the key to our sustainable development. In particular, as an ecological island with traditional ecological advantages, how to create Chongming’s own characteristics.

The geographical area of ??Chongming is indeed very large, but due to the limitations of ecological construction itself, how much open tourism space is there? How to coordinate and develop the rich tourism resources on the entire island? This requires long-term planning and layout, and then based on China's national conditions and the particularity of the local market, we can develop tourism products of different levels and functions based on different tourists' consumption preferences, abilities, and understanding of ecological protection concepts. Otherwise, it is difficult to say that there will not be a situation of "heating up quickly and cooling down faster".

Only when you understand it, you will be interested in coming back

Liu Sen: Abroad, ecological education is a very important part of the construction process of wetland parks. In this regard, we are only just getting started. What suggestions does Professor Lu have for this?

Lu Jianjian: I think we need more "mouths" to help. The media is one thing, but on-site accompanying explanations are also irreplaceable. Moreover, ecological knowledge is generally more professional, and whether it is explained in a simple and in-depth manner, everyone's gains will be very different. Of course, the bare reed marsh is not very ornamental, but if someone tells you what kind of creatures live in this reed marsh, and how they form an interlocking biological chain, the ecology behind it What the mechanism is, everyone will naturally find it interesting. Only when you understand it will you be interested in coming back.

For this reason, our nature reserves urgently need to build a team of interpreters. They can be professionals, college student volunteers in related majors, or biology teachers in local primary and secondary schools. After listening to the explanation, our children can "little hands holding big hands" when they go home and spread ecological knowledge and concepts to more people around them.