| LHASA - Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region is building three national parks at its landmark attractions, hoping to draw more international sightseers, the regional tourism administration said Thursday.
The three parks include the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon National Park, which opened in December, Mount Qomolangma National Park, and the Nam Co National Park, said Wang Songping, deputy chief of Tibet's regional tourism bureau.
Wang said the latter two parks would be completed by 2015, but did not give the budgeted amount for their construction.
Each park would have an administrative committee for general planning and management, he said. "The committee will be responsible for environmental protection, building of public facilities and commercial operations inside the parks."
Wang said each park would have a team of security guards, business regulators and guides. Meanwhile, specialists from different fields are welcomed to work as volunteers.
By building national parks, he said Tibet would follow an internationally-accepted practice in its management of tourism resources and minimize harm to the plateau ecology.
Tibet's first-ever national park, the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon National Park, was opened to visitors in December. It covers several counties in Nyingchi and Qamdo prefectures.
The planned Mount Qomolangma National Park will be in Xigaze prefecture, covering a number of famous peaks that draw mountaineers worldwide to Tibet every year.
The planned Nam Co National Park, named after a sacred lake, covers parts of Damxung County in the suburbs of Lhasa and Baingoin County in Nagqu.
Tibet is expecting an estimated 7.5 million tourists this year, and the figure is hoped to double by 2015. |
