City to bank on Mo tourism
October 19, 2012, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
GAOMI City of Shandong Province, hometown of Nobel Literature Prize winner Mo Yan, may face dramatic changes as local government plans to invest 670 million yuan (US$110 million) to develop farmlands into a "Mo-themed" culture center to boost tourism.
Under the plan, the city is expected to have over 660 hectares of red sorghum planted in the following three years to present a "spectacular view like a red sea," as a way to mark Mo's best-known novel, "Red Sorghum," local officials told The Beijing News.
In response, Mo told the newspaper that the entire plan may just be a joke.
It is reported that he once frowned upon the crazed expansion of tourism in Gaomi, saying it would make the city a "laughingstock."
Although farmers had become reluctant to grow the crop due to low profits, they would be paid a total of 10 million yuan by the government to resume planting it, no matter how the profits come out, said Fan Hun, head of the management committee of the city's Jiaohe Shugang Logistics Zone, where Mo's old house is located.
And this is only one part of local tourism officials' ambitious blueprint to develop the east China city with a population of 900,000 into a world-famous tourist attraction as cradle of China's first Nobel literature laureate.
"Gaomi is no longer what it was. It is now the holy land of the country, Mecca of Chinese literature," said local poet Li Danping, after Mo won the prize last week.
Also, the former residence of Mo in the city is expected to be renovated with an investment of 500,000 yuan by the government to entice tourists. Visitors may tour the old house and view the red sorghum to imagine how the writer used to live, write and gain inspiration, Fan told the newspaper.
Mo's father used to oppose the renovation plan as he feared the construction might disturb fellow villagers, but Fan told the newspaper that he was confident he could convince him. "Your son is no longer only yours. And your house is no longer only yours. Your objection may not work," the newspaper quoted Fan as saying what he planned to tell Mo's father.
Mo's old house, a typical farmer's house with five rooms, has already had visitors line up at the entrance to take pictures and "souvenirs," the newspaper said.
Tourists took pictures with a broken wall of the house, saying it was part of history, according to the newspaper.
This "Mo-mania" has actually been spread across the city as residents toast Mo's achievement at dinner, taxi drivers memorize the address of Mo's old house, congratulatory banners are seen along the street, and villagers are proud to say that they come from Gaomi, the newspaper said.
Also under the development plan, Wang Jianzhi, head of the city's tourism bureau, told the newspaper that they have started a campaign on the Internet to encourage people to vote for their favorite geographical scene in Mo's books.
The bureau may then seek investors to develop those scenes selected by voters, and even build movie sets there so they can shoot films based on Mo's stories in the future.
Under the plan, the city is expected to have over 660 hectares of red sorghum planted in the following three years to present a "spectacular view like a red sea," as a way to mark Mo's best-known novel, "Red Sorghum," local officials told The Beijing News.
In response, Mo told the newspaper that the entire plan may just be a joke.
It is reported that he once frowned upon the crazed expansion of tourism in Gaomi, saying it would make the city a "laughingstock."
Although farmers had become reluctant to grow the crop due to low profits, they would be paid a total of 10 million yuan by the government to resume planting it, no matter how the profits come out, said Fan Hun, head of the management committee of the city's Jiaohe Shugang Logistics Zone, where Mo's old house is located.
And this is only one part of local tourism officials' ambitious blueprint to develop the east China city with a population of 900,000 into a world-famous tourist attraction as cradle of China's first Nobel literature laureate.
"Gaomi is no longer what it was. It is now the holy land of the country, Mecca of Chinese literature," said local poet Li Danping, after Mo won the prize last week.
Also, the former residence of Mo in the city is expected to be renovated with an investment of 500,000 yuan by the government to entice tourists. Visitors may tour the old house and view the red sorghum to imagine how the writer used to live, write and gain inspiration, Fan told the newspaper.
Mo's father used to oppose the renovation plan as he feared the construction might disturb fellow villagers, but Fan told the newspaper that he was confident he could convince him. "Your son is no longer only yours. And your house is no longer only yours. Your objection may not work," the newspaper quoted Fan as saying what he planned to tell Mo's father.
Mo's old house, a typical farmer's house with five rooms, has already had visitors line up at the entrance to take pictures and "souvenirs," the newspaper said.
Tourists took pictures with a broken wall of the house, saying it was part of history, according to the newspaper.
This "Mo-mania" has actually been spread across the city as residents toast Mo's achievement at dinner, taxi drivers memorize the address of Mo's old house, congratulatory banners are seen along the street, and villagers are proud to say that they come from Gaomi, the newspaper said.
Also under the development plan, Wang Jianzhi, head of the city's tourism bureau, told the newspaper that they have started a campaign on the Internet to encourage people to vote for their favorite geographical scene in Mo's books.
The bureau may then seek investors to develop those scenes selected by voters, and even build movie sets there so they can shoot films based on Mo's stories in the future.
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