Driving through the Lugu Lake scenic area and being charged 70 yuan? Scenic Area Responds to Blogger | Staff | Scenic Area
Recently, a tourism blogger posted a video claiming that he was driving along Provincial Highway S307 and was stopped by staff while passing through the Lugu Lake scenic area, demanding that he pay a ticket fee of 70 yuan. The blogger stated that he does not intend to visit the scenic area and only drove by. The staff stated that he needs to pay a fee of 70 yuan in advance. After discussion, the blogger will travel through the scenic area within 1 hour, send the location to the staff, and the staff will refund the fee to him. The blogger questioned that such a "fee" is not reasonable.
On the afternoon of June 13th, staff members of the Lugu Lake Management Committee told Red Star News that the fee was to distinguish between passing drivers and tourists, in order to prevent some tourists from "evading their tickets" and not to charge "toll fees". If it is indeed just passing by, the deposit will be returned to the driver after passing through.
The blogger believes that they are only passing by scenic spots and being "pre charged" is unreasonable
In the video of the tourism blogger mentioned above, he told the staff at the ticket station that he was going to Yongning Town, but the staff told him that Yongning Town belongs to the Lugu Lake Scenic Area. The blogger then checked the map and found that Yongning Town is far away from the Lugu Lake in a straight line, and believes that Yongning Town does not belong to the Lugu Lake scenic area. Subsequently, the blogger went to the office of the scenic area and told the staff that he planned to take S307 Provincial Road located on the west side of Lugu Lake to Sichuan and not enter the scenic area for sightseeing. The blogger found that the village he planned to go to did not pass through the northern ticket station. After discussion with the blogger and staff, it was decided that when the blogger arrives at a village outside the scenic area, he will send a location to the staff to prove that he has not stayed or played in the scenic area. After the blogger arrived at the agreed location and sent location sharing to the staff, the staff refunded the deposit to him.
Red Star News contacted the blogger via private message, but as of the time of publication, no response has been received.
Regarding the situation reported by the blogger, staff from the Lugu Lake Management Committee told Red Star News that the toll station the blogger passed through was the ticket station at the southern end of the scenic area. The scenic area is located at the border of Sichuan and Yunnan, with over 10 villages and a large area. S307 Provincial Road will pass through the scenic area. Yongning Town is also included within the scenic area.
Staff said that apart from local residents, it is difficult for scenic area staff to verify whether vehicles passing through the scenic area are for passing or for recreational purposes. Previously, some tourists entered the scenic area for free under the guise of "passing by", causing inconvenience to the area. Therefore, the local government implemented transit procedures and set up ticket stations at the north and south ends of the circular route on the east side of Lugu Lake, collecting tickets or deposits uniformly to prevent ticket evasion. When charging, the staff will provide a detailed explanation of the charging reasons to the driver. If the driver passes through the scenic area within about 1 hour, it proves that they have not got off the car to play in the scenic area. The ticket station located at the northern end will refund the full deposit of 70 yuan. In case of traffic congestion or other special circumstances, simply explain to the staff.
Chengdu Business Daily - Red Star News Reporter Wang Yucheng, Wang Han Intern Liu Qing
