Home
News
In Focus
Business
Metro
Nation
World
Sports
Feature
Opinion
View more »Opinion Columns
Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
Restaurants get off to a quick start thanks to game-changing policies
High service charges on event ticket refunds call for further regulation
Sunday
- Subscribe
Related News
Free offer for foreigners under fire
By Jane Chen |
June 30, 2009, Tuesday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
A North Chinese city has come under fire for offering free admission to tourist attractions for foreign visitors.
The free admission scheme in Henan Province starts tomorrow and goes through to the end of the year. Tourists with foreign passports will enjoy free admission to all attractions in Anyang City including the ruins of the oldest capital city in China, today's Orient Today reported.
The offer has sparked public complaints about biased treatment for domestic and foreign visitors - Chinese tourists will continue to pay for admission.
"The free admission is to boost the local tourism industry by attracting more foreign tourists here," said Lu Hongfeng, vice director of Anyang Tourism Bureau's marketing department.
He dismissed the criticism, saying that the city had offered other incentives for Chinese tourists including 10 million yuan (US$1.46 million) worth of tourist vouchers.
He said the tourism authority will not expand the free admission scheme to all visitors because of concerns about the protection of archeological sites.
In July, 2006, the city opened the Yinxu Museum for free to the public for one month after the site - the ruins of the Shang Dynasty (1500-1046BC) capital known as Yin - was listed as a World Cultural Heritage site. "The site was so overcrowded that the museum had to shut part of it to protect the archeological heritage," he said.
Anyang is an ancient city with over 3,000 years of history and is one of the eight ancient capitals of China.
The massive archaeological site of Yinxu was discovered in 1899.
The free admission scheme in Henan Province starts tomorrow and goes through to the end of the year. Tourists with foreign passports will enjoy free admission to all attractions in Anyang City including the ruins of the oldest capital city in China, today's Orient Today reported.
The offer has sparked public complaints about biased treatment for domestic and foreign visitors - Chinese tourists will continue to pay for admission.
"The free admission is to boost the local tourism industry by attracting more foreign tourists here," said Lu Hongfeng, vice director of Anyang Tourism Bureau's marketing department.
He dismissed the criticism, saying that the city had offered other incentives for Chinese tourists including 10 million yuan (US$1.46 million) worth of tourist vouchers.
He said the tourism authority will not expand the free admission scheme to all visitors because of concerns about the protection of archeological sites.
In July, 2006, the city opened the Yinxu Museum for free to the public for one month after the site - the ruins of the Shang Dynasty (1500-1046BC) capital known as Yin - was listed as a World Cultural Heritage site. "The site was so overcrowded that the museum had to shut part of it to protect the archeological heritage," he said.
Anyang is an ancient city with over 3,000 years of history and is one of the eight ancient capitals of China.
The massive archaeological site of Yinxu was discovered in 1899.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
