Duplicate palace not a wise move
Nanjing's plan to use an astronomical amount of money to duplicate the Qing imperial weaving palace is an ill-advised move, says an article in Workers' Daily. An excerpt follows:
The 700 million yuan-worth project by the capital of Jiangsu province is scheduled to be completed in three years.
As a temporary dwelling place for emperors of the Qing court and the original copy of the Great Garden mentioned in the classic novel, Dream of the Red Mansions, the palace, if well preserved, will be an attractive spot for tourists. But a duplicate piece cannot carry the value of the historical relic, for it will be deliberately reconstructed and unnatural.
We should not ignore the fact that many of the expensive artificial historical scenic spots throughout the country have got a cold shoulder from tourists and not yielded expected economic returns.
In the context of the still aggravating global economic crisis, any move to spend taxpayers' money should be well planned and fully discussed by relevant parties.
It still remains unknown whether there was any scientific evaluation on the costly project in Nanjing and whether its astronomical budget got the approval of relevant departments.
It is expected that local officials bear in their minds that someone be held accountable if the completed money-guzzling project fails to bring the region the anticipated profits.
(China Daily 01/07/2009 page8)
