Is it "rushing tourists into scenic spots" or is there another reason? Three Questions on Qinghai Lake: "Fence Blocking Scenery" Tourists | Qinghai Lake | Fence

"Driving over a thousand kilometers, the entire Qinghai Lake can only be seen from a distance." "In the past, I used to run horses and circle the land, but now I collect money by enclosing the scenery." "Qinghai Lake is all surrounded by fences, jokingly known as the Iron Wire Mesh Lake." Recently, the popular tourist destination in China, Qinghai Lake, has attracted public attention due to the iron wire fence surrounding the lake. Many tourists have questioned Qinghai Lake for charging fees and for "closing up" the scenery and "strictly prohibiting the appreciation of the beautiful rivers and mountains of the motherland.". Why did Qinghai Lake build a fence? Is building a fence to attract tourists to paid attractions or is it for other purposes or historical reasons? How can tourists enjoy the lake view up close behind the fence? How can Qinghai Lake scenic area improve tourism quality? Focusing on social concerns, Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporters recently conducted on-site visits to Qinghai Lake, visiting tourists, local residents, management departments, industry experts, and others to understand the ins and outs of the dispute and explore solutions.

Why is the fence set up in Qinghai Lake? There are two main causes: first, the lakeside fence is mainly used as a grassland boundary; second, some fences are used to protect the ecology

When the summer tourism peak came, Mr. Zhou, a tourist from Jiangsu Province, complained to reporters in the Qinghai Lake scenic spot: "I wanted to go to the lake to play, but there were fences everywhere, so I had to buy tickets to enter the scenic spot. The fence gives people the feeling that tourists are driven into the paid scenic spot." Why is the Qinghai Lake fenced? Our reporter recently conducted on-site visits and found that fences have a long history, mainly due to two reasons: first, the lakeside fence is mainly located at the boundary of grassland areas. The reporter drove around Qinghai Lake for a week and found that the grassland on the lakeside was a pasture for herdsmen, with scattered livestock raised by herdsmen inside the fence. Coastal herdsmen also confirmed to reporters that the function of fences is to prevent livestock from wandering around and vehicles from crushing and damaging grasslands. "In the past, fences were relatively simple, but now they are made of better quality galvanized steel wire mesh." Personnel from the Qinghai Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs also stated that grassland fences have a long history, with the purpose of controlling livestock activities, regulating the balance of forage supply and demand, and promoting the restoration of degraded grassland vegetation and fixing grassland use rights as effective measures. Since the 1980s, Qinghai has introduced galvanized steel wire mesh fences for experimental demonstration from Inner Mongolia and other places, and promoted their application in pastoral areas throughout the province. Not only Qinghai Lake, but also the reporters are driving in the main pastoral areas of Qinghai. The grasslands are all equipped with fences of various sizes to distinguish different types of pastures. The second is that some fences are used to protect the ecology. The relevant departments told reporters that, in addition to pasture fences, some important lake shoreline fences are designed to protect the ecology of Qinghai Lake. "Qinghai Lake is a national level nature reserve with a sensitive and fragile ecosystem, rich and unique biodiversity. According to the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Nature Reserves, tourism and business activities cannot be carried out in the core and buffer zones of nature reserves." Deng Li, director of the Ecological Environment Research Institute of the Qinghai Provincial Ecological Environment Planning and Environmental Protection Technology Center, said that Qinghai Lake is an important water body to maintain ecological security on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau and a natural barrier to control the eastward spread of desertification in the west. Measures such as setting up fences can reduce or strictly control the adverse effects of human activities on key ecological protection areas. The Qinghai Lake scenic area is the habitat of the Puji antelope, and public opinion is also concerned about the fence affecting its activities. In response to the questioning, the relevant person in charge of the Qinghai Lake Scenic Area Protection and Utilization Management Bureau stated that before 2000, the net fence had a certain impact on the natural activities and genetic exchange between populations of the Puji antelope. After 2000, Qinghai province protected the habitat of the Proctology antelope by setting up drinking water points, artificial feeding, opening up safe passages, and allowing herdsmen to vacate grasslands to expand the habitat. From the late 1980s to the present, the number of Przewalski antelopes in the Qinghai Lake region has increased from less than 300 to the current 3480. Professor Ma Guifang from the Economics Department of the Qinghai Provincial Party School stated that Qinghai Lake is not a single tourist destination, but also undertakes multiple functions such as ecological protection. Between environmental protection and tourism development, it is necessary to prioritize protection, enrich the ecological tourism industry, refine tourism services, and enhance the tourism ex

How do tourists get close to Qinghai Lake? [Managing the chaos of private "scenic spots" has caused a short-term shortage of effective supply for hydrophilic scenic spots. At the beginning of the year, 12 evacuation observation spots were added to the non core areas of the nature reserve, but due to construction cycle issues, they have not been fully completed.]

Since the fence of Qinghai Lake was not built today, why did it cause a large number of tourists to "roast" this year? The reporter conducted a survey and found that the local government has been making continuous efforts in management to prioritize protection, but there is still room for improvement in guidance. Although Qinghai Lake used to have fences, some herdsmen around the lake opened their own fences to set up "tourist routes" and "small attractions", and through charging fees, allowed tourists to get close to Qinghai Lake by riding horses and taking photos, giving a large number of tourists a way to get close to Qinghai Lake. But similar to the expansion of the number of private "scenic spots", on the one hand, conflicts and disputes often arise, and on the other hand, it seriously damages the grassland and affects the ecological environment. In response to this, Qinghai Province will carry out a special rectification of the chaos of private "scenic spots" in 2022. Recently, reporters visited Gonghe County in Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gangcha County in Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and Haiyan County along the coast of Qinghai Lake, and found that previously bustling private "scenic spots" have been banned, and there is no phenomenon of attracting visitors at the iron gate entrance of herdsmen's own grassland fences. However, although a series of strict management measures have closed the loopholes, insufficient guidance has affected the tourist experience. The reporter's on-site visit found that after the closure of "small scenic spots" in Qinghai Province, the effective supply of waterfront scenic spots along the route is insufficient, forming a prominent contradiction with the sharp increase in the number of tourists during the peak tourist season. According to data provided by Qinghai Provincial Transportation Holding Group Co., Ltd., as of July 12th, Qinghai Lake Scenic Area has received a total of 1.1176 million tourists this year, an increase of 46% compared to the same period in 2019, and the passenger flow is showing a continuous growth trend. A large number of tourists roast that the scenic spot is crowded and the charges are high. In response to this prominent contradiction, Qinghai Province has added 12 evacuation observation spots in the non core areas of nature reserves at the beginning of the year, but due to construction cycle issues, they have not been fully completed. The reporter's on-site visit found that the Shengquan Bay Experience Area located in Gangcha County has recently opened, attracting many tourists. Tourists can get up close to the water of Qinghai Lake here and enjoy the naked carp of Qinghai Lake. In addition, some evacuation observation spots are still under construction. Many tourists online question that the roads around Qinghai Lake do not allow parking for photography, which is also aimed at driving tourists to paid scenic spots. In response to this, relevant departments in Hainan Province along the coast have stated that the Qinghai Lake tourism special line currently only has two lanes in both directions, with high traffic flow during peak tourist seasons. In the past, tourists stopped and stopped at the roadside at will, which not only caused road congestion but also often led to traffic accidents. Therefore, strict local management is implemented, and random parking is prohibited. At the same time, parking bays have been set up on the roadside to facilitate short-term parking for tourists.

How to improve the quality of tourism? The relevant person in charge stated that they will honestly face public criticism and comprehensively improve the tourism quality of Qinghai Lake from both hardware and software aspects in response to the concerns of tourists

The reporter's on-site visit found that the shoreline of Qinghai Lake is long, and although toilets have been added, some tourists still report that the number of toilets is not enough. In addition, except for the parking lots in Erlangjian Scenic Area, the existing number of parking lots along Qinghai Lake is difficult to meet the needs of self driving tourists during peak seasons, and hardware improvement urgently needs to be further strengthened. The relevant person in charge of the Qinghai Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism stated that they will honestly face public criticism and comprehensively improve the tourism quality of Qinghai Lake from both hardware and software aspects in response to the concerns of tourists. It is reported that in response to the widespread concern of society about supporting issues such as scenic roads, parking lots, toilets, etc., Qinghai Province has completed the renovation and upgrading of 15.4 kilometers of scenic spots and lakeside roads, as well as the renovation of 4 parking lots, the construction of 5 parking lots, and the addition of 4020 standard parking spaces. Simultaneously complete the renovation of 9 standard toilets, add 16 mobile tourist toilets, and reserve 4 emergency mobile tourist toilets. At the same time, in order to enhance the tourist experience, Haibei and Hainan prefectures along the Qinghai Lake coast have carried out standardized rectification work on the tourism market, investigating and punishing illegal business activities and market chaos such as setting up private "scenic spots", deceiving and slaughtering customers, demanding exorbitant prices for meals, houses, and unreasonable low-priced tours. As of now, the cultural market law enforcement departments at the prefecture and county levels in Haibei have handled 27 tourism complaints, with a completion rate of 100%. Associate Professor Chen Jinlin from the School of Finance and Economics of Qinghai University suggests that Qinghai should take this social concern and questioning as an opportunity to focus on the construction of the Qinghai Lake Demonstration Zone, an international ecotourism destination, and focus on ecological protection, infrastructure, public services, and tourism experience, planning and designing tourism products that are suitable for the characteristics of Qinghai Lake. At the same time, we will innovate the tourism industry in scenic areas, encourage people to participate in creating new ways of comprehensive tourism, and further help local herdsmen share the benefits of tourism development.