BEIJING, March 29 -- The construction of a 21-km-long
concrete and marble dragon along the ridge of a mountain near a national forest
in central China's Henan Province has become a controversial national issue.
The Zulong Company has completed construction on the
dragon's 29.9-meter-high head and 800 meters of its body at a cost of more than
30 million yuan (3.9 million U.S. dollars), with the final cost expected to be
10 times that amount.
Company president Li Shumin said the monumental
project would be completed by 2009 in time to celebrate the 60th anniversary of
the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Critics of the project say it is a waste of money and
will damage the local environment, while supporters say it will attract visitors
and create jobs for local people.
Zulong's vice president, Li Xiong, said the company
will continue building the giant stone dragon and is determined to make it a
success despite the controversy
An online survey by the leading Chinese portal
website Sina.com shows more than 91 percent of over 65,500 respondents
disapproved of the dragon, which is said to be the longest in the country if not
the world.
The dragon snakes its way along the top of a ridge of
Shizhu Mountain, which was designated as a national forest park in 2005. Along
with its mammoth head and impressive, twisting length, the dragon will form a
wall nine meters high and six meters wide along the backbone of the ridge.
Some 5.6 million pieces of white marble and gilded
bronze are to form the dragon's scales as a move that is "symbolic of the
country's 56 ethnic groups." Display rooms offering themes of filial piety and
patriotism are to be set up in the dragon's hollow body.
For a fee, people will be able to have their names
and messages inscribed on the scales, and companies can advertise on the
dragon's head.
A Henan newspaper quoted an official with Xinzheng
City as saying that the dragon is a business project and has nothing to do with
the government.
But Li Xiong disputes this statement, saying: "How
can this huge project have nothing to do with the government? The lands belong
to the state, you know, if the government didn't approve it, how can we build
this dragon on it?"
The land used for construction is reported to be
wasted land, and he added that the government has even promised relocation
arrangements for the villagers living on the mountain, which indicates the
government's support for the project.
The director of the Xinzheng municipal publicity
department strongly denied the reported involvement of the government. "The
government never invested a penny into this project. They told the media that
our government supports them and it's the government's important project -- they
are just using us to gain publicity to attract further investments!"
However, on February 5, the stone dragon project was
given permission to build by Xinzheng City's Development and Reform Commission
and was submitted to provincial and national development and reform commissions,
according to Henan Business Newspaper.
Exactly where the building funds came from is quite a
mystery now. A company official from the press department of Zulong told Legal
Evening News yesterday they have rejected any direct investments. He said they
have been developing a unique product for the project, which they expect to
sell, using the money they earn as further investment toward the project.
His comments have contradicted previous statements
made by the company. Even the official website never mentioned the "product,"
but it did welcome foreign and domestic enterprises, social organizations,
venture companies, and funds.
The official also said the reported "30 million yuan"
figure is not correct, but he did not elaborate on the true figure.
The dragon project was first launched in 2002 by a
returned overseas Chinese but stalled after running short of funds. Zulong
Company was founded in October 2005 with a registered capital of 1 million yuan
(129,381 dollars).
However, the government may now step in to decide the
fate of the dragon. Due to the media frenzy that followed public discovery of
the project, the provincial environmental protection bureau has sent a team to
inspect the construction site.
Li Shumin confessed to the media yesterday that the
project hasn't passed the examination of environmental authorities. If it cannot
pass the examination, it will be terminated immediately.
(Source: China.org.cn)
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