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Ferrari's skid marks on city wall spur anger
By Li Qian |
May 8, 2012, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
LUXURY car brand Ferrari said an employee from its dealership in Nanjing who drifted a racing car on the city's historic ancient wall didn't get authorization and approval from the company.
It said the Nanjing Kuaiyi Automobile Trading Co planned to hold a car exhibition at the Zhonghua Gate - a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) city wall gate and castle - to celebrate the brand's entry into China 20 years ago on Monday.
But the night before, an unidentified employee drifted a car worth millions of yuan without permission and left tire marks on the ancient wall, which triggered widespread outrage over damage to the historic heritage in the capital city of east China's Jiangsu Province.
"We feel very regretful and promise to keep a close eye on the incident. We will take further measures to ensure that similar cases never take place again," the Italian car maker said in a statement yesterday.
According to a China National Radio report, the tourist spot was closed at 11:30am on Monday and the expensive racing cars were hoisted up onto the wall for the evening's event. Some cars were put there Sunday night, which is when the drifting occurred.
Later, urban management officials in Qinhuai District stopped the activity and ordered the organizers to remove the cars to ensure the historic wall wouldn't be damaged. The tourist attraction was then reopened to visitors.
Investigation showed Kuaiyi signed an agreement with the Zhonghua Gate management administration to hold the ceremony, but didn't inform the Qinhuai District tourism and cultural authorities for proper authorization, according to an official statement issued by the district tourist bureau.
The head of the Zhonghua Gate management administration, surnamed Yang, told China News Service that he never allowed drifting, insisting the ceremony just included buffet reception and car exhibitions.
"The activity is of small-scale that we usually don't apply to the cultural authorities. It also poses no damage to the wall," Yang said.
The gate management administration was said to charge 80,000 yuan (US$12,704) for the ceremony, but authorities wouldn't confirm that figure.
"Protecting the city's ancient walls is our obligation," said the Qinhuai Tourist Bureau.
Zhonghua Gate also is the largest existing ancient castle in China, and it was the south gate of Nanjing during the Ming Dynasty. The gate is 118.5 meters wide and 128 meters long.
It said the Nanjing Kuaiyi Automobile Trading Co planned to hold a car exhibition at the Zhonghua Gate - a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) city wall gate and castle - to celebrate the brand's entry into China 20 years ago on Monday.
But the night before, an unidentified employee drifted a car worth millions of yuan without permission and left tire marks on the ancient wall, which triggered widespread outrage over damage to the historic heritage in the capital city of east China's Jiangsu Province.
"We feel very regretful and promise to keep a close eye on the incident. We will take further measures to ensure that similar cases never take place again," the Italian car maker said in a statement yesterday.
According to a China National Radio report, the tourist spot was closed at 11:30am on Monday and the expensive racing cars were hoisted up onto the wall for the evening's event. Some cars were put there Sunday night, which is when the drifting occurred.
Later, urban management officials in Qinhuai District stopped the activity and ordered the organizers to remove the cars to ensure the historic wall wouldn't be damaged. The tourist attraction was then reopened to visitors.
Investigation showed Kuaiyi signed an agreement with the Zhonghua Gate management administration to hold the ceremony, but didn't inform the Qinhuai District tourism and cultural authorities for proper authorization, according to an official statement issued by the district tourist bureau.
The head of the Zhonghua Gate management administration, surnamed Yang, told China News Service that he never allowed drifting, insisting the ceremony just included buffet reception and car exhibitions.
"The activity is of small-scale that we usually don't apply to the cultural authorities. It also poses no damage to the wall," Yang said.
The gate management administration was said to charge 80,000 yuan (US$12,704) for the ceremony, but authorities wouldn't confirm that figure.
"Protecting the city's ancient walls is our obligation," said the Qinhuai Tourist Bureau.
Zhonghua Gate also is the largest existing ancient castle in China, and it was the south gate of Nanjing during the Ming Dynasty. The gate is 118.5 meters wide and 128 meters long.
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