Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area Off Limits To Film Crews

In a statement issued Tuesday by the state-controlled Xinhua News Agency, Jiuzhaigou, a World Heritage-listed scenic area in southwest China's Sichuan Province, will be off-limits to television and film crews as of 2007. TV and film producers are charged with destroying the scenic environment of several sites, in particular the crews of "The Promise" ("Wu Ji"), "Stories of Heroes"("Da Qi Ying Xiong Zhuan") and "The Legend of Condor Hero"("Shen Diao Xia Lu"). Accused of littering and damaging vegetation near Bigu Lake in Shangri-la county, the producers of "The Promise" were fined 90,000 yuan (US$11,250). The State Environmental Protection Administration scolded the producers of "Stories of Heroes" for arbitrarily painting the Moya Stone Inscriptions in a scenic area in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. Jiuzhaigou was one of 33 World Heritage sites, including E'Mei Mountain and Huangshan Mountain, to jointly sign a manifesto at the end of 2006, pledging to prioritize protection over exploitation and to accept public and media supervision by publicizing any commercial and film shooting activities, if any. Faced with the imminent threat to the environment posed by such activities, the State Environmental Protection Administration, the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Culture and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage jointly issued a regulation March 1, 2007 restricting film crews and artistic performances in sites of unspoiled beauty. In the meantime, the Ministry of Construction adopted firmer measures to protect the areas, including stiffer fines ranging from US $62,500 to US $130,000 for individuals or companies that irreparably harm scenery, vegetation and landforms.

[Source: Crienglish]