Scenic salt lake requires better protection

DURING THE PEAK TOURISM SEASON in summer, tourists create as much as 12 tons of solid waste each day in the Chaka Salt Lake scenic area in Wulan county, Northwest China's Qinghai province. Much of the waste is plastic shoe covers that they are instructed to wear while entering the shallows of the lake to protect the ecology. Guangming Daily comments:

Apart from pointing fingers at tourists, the scenic area's management should also reflect upon its own faults. It has employed 200 people to collect the travelers' discarded trash. But it conveniently omits the fact that the garbage bins it has provided are far from enough to hold the one-time plastic shoe covers discarded by the huge influx of tourists.

The management of the scenic area requires all people stepping into the shallows of the lake to wear plastic shoe covers, which is included in almost all the if-you-go tips for the lake. But what is not included is that the travelers can rent the shoe covers from the scenic area with 5 yuan ($0.73), with a 100-yuan deposit, which ensures most shoe covers are returned afterward.