World Heritage: Can Protection and Tourism Development Have Both?

When more and more world heritage sites in China appear in tourist promotional films, and when more and more scenic spots in China are famous for being selected as world cultural heritage sites, some people cheer and others worry. Between the protection of world heritage and tourism development, China, which is the third largest country in the world heritage, is puzzled. With the vigorous development of tourism in China today, there is a contradiction that cannot be ignored-the excessive expansion of tourists and the protection of scenic spots listed as world heritage. World Heritage in Overloaded Operation In recent years, "holiday tourism" has been heating up, which has caused many world heritages to be in overloaded operation and reception. For example, the Forbidden City in Beijing has received more than 1, visitors a day in the three days before the Golden Week for several consecutive years, breaking the historical record of 13, visitors at the highest, exceeding the saturation by 1%-2%. In fact, the appropriate value of the Forbidden City receiving tourists every day is only 3, to 4, people. Professor Luo Zhewen, an architectural expert in Tsinghua University, pointed out that too many tourists will not only increase the possibility of direct accidental damage to ancient buildings, but also the exhaust gas generated during the activities will change the temperature, humidity and other indicators in ancient buildings, which will have an irreparable impact on colorful paintings and sculptures that have been preserved for hundreds of years. In fact, the impact of tourism development on world heritage protection has attracted worldwide attention. UNESCO has identified tourism as one of the four major threats to world heritage. Due to air pollution, the masonry on the Acropolis has deteriorated, and the heavy losses caused by millions of tourists have forced the Acropolis to stop opening to the outside world. The parking lot of tourist vehicles invaded the front yard of some ancient buildings and caused obvious pollution (in hot and dry weather, the air conditioner had to be kept running, thus increasing the air pollution); In some narrow pedestrian streets, rows of cars or motorcycles are parked, and so on. These are some real problems and examples that need to be solved through constant exchange of views. Many world heritage scenic spots have to take measures to control the tourist flow. According to reports, the Forbidden City has initially formulated a set of emergency plans to control the passenger flow within the allowable range, including measures such as limiting the number of teams entering the Forbidden City on the peak day of the long holiday, closing some scenic spots in an emergency, one-way diversion of narrow sections, and appropriate adjustment of tourist routes. Suzhou is discussing the promotion of garden tickets for World Heritage to control the number of tourists, while Old Town of Lijiang requires each visitor to pay tens of yuan for the protection of the ancient city. Professor Ray En Johnson, president of the International Architectural Association and head of the Department of Architecture of the University of Sydney, Australia, said that although entrepreneurs in the tourism industry have promoted the development of tourism under the pressure of profit first, they often ignore the features of the natural environment and improperly build buildings, parking lots and ancillary buildings in these places, resulting in the invasion and encroachment on the natural environment, thus destroying the unique style of those wonderful scenic spots and historical sites in the worst way. Big cities and historical sites in Europe, temples and cities in Asia, and natural scenery and scenic spots in America and Africa are all attractive. Attracting so many tourists (especially using modern means of transportation) will inevitably have a great impact on these places. The industrial society with advanced technology has its negative aspects, and with the gathering of tourists, the impact on the natural environment is very complicated and disastrous. Many scenic spots along the Mediterranean coast have been greatly reduced due to indiscriminate occupation and construction; Similar changes have taken place in scenic spots along the coasts of other countries. Ray Johnson believes that a special problem in environmental protection is that the consequences of tourism are mixed with the process of transformation from traditional society to modern society. Bali, Malaysia, located between Java and Lombok, is rich in cultural relics and historic sites in its suburban scenic spots. Its natural scenery, the development of natural resources, towns and villages, and rare wooden temples form a harmonious unity. Until recent years, Bali has become a tourist target for opening to the outside world. In the past, for a long time, only a few interested visitors visited. Tourists must have accommodation, service facilities and travel around the country every week (coaches line up in front of the village or temple). The extravagant demand and supply accompanied by tourism will inevitably affect the cultural and social structure of this place, and as a result, the natural environment itself that attracts tourists will be destroyed. This situation is not uncommon in some parts of China. Whether protection and tourism development can have China's world heritage is now 29, ranking third in the world. The competition for world heritage is fierce. A country can only declare one item every year, except its expansion projects. What the world cultural heritage shows is a nation's special contribution and outstanding achievements to all mankind, which is the basis for establishing a nation's self-esteem and self-confidence. As far as the heritage itself is concerned, there is a long history behind the world's natural and cultural heritage. Natural heritage can last for billions of years. Cultural heritages are like Zhoukoudian in Beijing for 5, years, the Forbidden City for nearly 6 years, and the youngest Summer Palace in China for 25 years. These heritages have not only its historical function, but also its practical function. For example, the Forbidden City, whose historical function is the imperial palace, is the place where emperors sit and live, while its realistic function is the museum. However, with the rapid development of tourism today, the world heritage has a more direct practical temptation: once it is listed as a world heritage, this scenic spot will be favored by tourists at home and abroad, and various investments in tourism will follow, and then the visibility of the whole city will increase, which will attract more tourists. Therefore, many people regard tourism development as an unbearable burden of world heritage, and even regard the contradictions as irreconcilable. However, some experts believe that there is no essential contradiction between them. "The two aspects of tourism development and heritage protection are not necessarily opposed." Professor Geng Liutong, a well-known expert in cultural relics and tourism research, holds the view that development and protection are not inevitable. It is originally a form of contemporary social and cultural activities that rely on each other, and the key is to grasp and treat it from the height of value understanding. As the executive director of Beijing Tourism Society, Geng Liutong explained tourism as the best human cultural exchange activity. He believes that tourism expands people's living space and time, which is a very important need of human beings. From this perspective, tourism is a very noble activity. Through this form, people have increased their knowledge, historical and cultural knowledge and improved their own quality. People know not only the present, but also the past and the future. This kind of communication is not contradictory to heritage protection. The problem is that at present, many people interpret tourism as an economic behavior and simply pursue interests; Some irresponsible practices of misinterpreting and dwarfing the world cultural heritage have caused contradictions and conflicts between development and protection. For example, he said that in the Summer Palace, he heard a tour guide tell tourists that the pebbles on this road were specially massaged for Empress Dowager Cixi. In fact, these pebbles were paved in the 198s, and have nothing to do with Cixi. Professor Geng, who used to be a senior engineer in the Summer Palace Park, is very opposed to the practice of tour guides explaining history with some inferior and vulgar content. He said that talking nonsense and making things up is to dwarf and misinterpret our national culture, which is extremely irresponsible in the profession. World heritage is the common heritage of mankind, so it is necessary to study and understand its value. Yu Changjiang, director of Beijing Tourism Bureau, believes that on the one hand, the public's awareness of world cultural heritage should be improved and deepened, and people's awareness of active protection of world cultural heritage should be guided; on the other hand, management should be strengthened, the professional ethics and professional knowledge level of tourism managers and employees should be improved, and heritage protection and utilization should be done well. Professor Luo Zhewen, an architectural expert in Tsinghua University, believes that the development of cultural relics and historic sites and tourism are inseparable, and tourism cannot be separated from cultural relics and historic sites. Cultural relics and historic sites play their role and spread their history through tourism. For example, the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO listed the famous cultural relics and natural landscapes of various countries in the World Heritage List by announcing the world heritage, which provided the tourists with the most worthy objects to visit. Twenty-three cultural and natural heritages in China, such as the Peking Man site, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Suzhou Gardens, have been included in the list by UNESCO. Tourism is a very important and critical way and a very good form to play the role of cultural relics and historic sites. If the two are handled well, they can complement each other and complement each other. If they are not handled well, they may both lose. The key is to exchange information, plan scientifically, arrange rationally and act according to law. Over-exploitation needs to be paid attention to by all walks of life. At present, there are blind over-exploitation of cultural relics and historical sites in many places. At the expense of the intrinsic value of cultural relics and historical sites, blindly pursuing so-called economic benefits and tourism development is tantamount to killing the goose that lays the golden egg. For example, the world heritage and cultural relics protection units will be listed or leased as tourism projects for commercial development; The ubiquitous cableway has seriously damaged the natural landscape; The rush to build new scenic spots ignores the protection and utilization of cultural relics themselves; Abandoning the truth for the sake of falsehood, repairing fake antiques at will and fabricating landscapes, and so on. Geng Liutong said, we should protect and utilize the world heritage, but the value of these heritages is not only the tourism value, but also the realistic function based on the historical function will show their historical and cultural value and vitality in real life in a broader space, which is the theme of sustainable development and sustainable utilization of historical and cultural heritage. There are six world cultural heritages in Beijing, and Geng Liutong believes that their values include: First, these heritages are the important contents and reasons for Beijing to be a famous historical and cultural city in China and the world. If Beijing does not have these six world heritages, it will be difficult to compare with Paris and Rome. Secondly, it is the main basis for formulating and realizing Beijing's master plan and the starting point of many regional plans. Beijing's master plan, such as the Forbidden City and Jingshan Mountain, has played a great role as a fixed point. Tiananmen Square developed from the central axis. Beijing originally had 6.8 kilometers, and now it will extend to both sides for more than 3 kilometers. Its starting point is the central axis of the Forbidden City. Organizations including traffic roads should also consider these scenic spots. Third, Beijing, as a national political center, cultural center and international exchange center, is a landmark landscape and ideal place for activities. Recently, the emblem of the 28 Olympic Games is the Temple of Heaven, and the end of the torch relay of the Athens Olympic Games is also in the Summer Palace. These world heritages should be positioned at such a high standard first. Geng Liutong said that the world heritage is also a protection content and construction achievement that can not be ignored in Beijing's ecological and environmental protection; It is an indispensable highlight of the magnificent capital; It is an index of the quality of life of foreigners living and working in Beijing; It is an ideal atmosphere and place for patriotism education, spiritual civilization education and popular science education, as well as a bright spot to show the 28 Beijing High-tech Olympics and People's Olympics. Regarding the attitude of protecting the world heritage, Geng Liutong emphasized that there are three responsibilities: first, responsibility for history and responsibility for the ancestors who created high human values and civilization. Second, we should be responsible for the present people. The world heritage belongs not only to the 1.3 billion people in China, but also to the people all over the world. Third, the key to being responsible for the future is to hand it over to future generations.