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Locals say luxury villas encroach on nature

By Cheng Anqi (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-04-15 19:18

As western China's development strategy pushes forward Yunnan's real estate industry and tourism, more and more tourism plans for natural reserves are getting involved. Erhai Lake in Dali, the second largest highland lake in China, is one of them.

Recently, many Dali residents found rows of luxury villas springing up and encroaching on their pretty Erhai Park.

Abounding in willows, small mountains and canoes, the park is the first scenic spot on the tour of Erhai Lake and Cangshan Mountain, and is famous for a natural lake surrounded by walkways.

Unfortunately, the lake is now surrounded by a villa resort occupying 300 mu (19.8 hectare) with 300 villas, two miles of shopping street, a five-star hotel and China's sole yacht club built on the highland lake.

"The natural scenery should be free to everyone, but the most popular landscape in the park has turned out to be a backyard garden for the rich," a visitor said.

Some citizens said the developer dipped into taxpayers' pockets and put the money toward supporting facilities for the resort.

Some doubted that there was the right motivation for building the villas, accusing the project of being a sort of public squander under the guise of construction.

Since most of the plans are economic interest-oriented, some significant natural reserves are confronting an increasingly serious sustainable development crisis.

A document issued by the Dali government on Thursday said that the resort construction was a joint project for trade and investment promotion by China Construction First Building Group and Hong Kong Huifeng Investment Company in 2003, yet it was in violation of regulations. The case is now under investigation.