BEIJING, June 29 -- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) voiced grave concerns on Tuesday over the apparent conservation of the world natural heritage site around the three paralleled rivers (Nujiang, Lancang and Jinsha rivers) in southwestern Yunnan Province.

    It is the sixth world natural or cultural heritage site on the Chinese mainland facing the risk of being listed as endangered. The other five include Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven in Beijing, Potala Palace in Lhasa and Lijiang in Yunnan Province.

    Such concerns are a wake-up call for a change of mentality about how such sites should be protected.

    The concerns also should serve as a reminder that these sites of historical interest and scenic beauty need to be inscribed on the UNESCO heritage list, but not just to appeal to tourists. This means a genuine commitment to better preserve the listed sites.

    Internationally-accepted principles must be observed in the protection of these heritage sites, to keep them as intact as they originally were.

    Lijiang government's efforts to move local residents of Naxi ethnic group out of the city proper is against this principle, and so are the large-scale renovations that have been conducted in other heritage sites.

    Almost all Chinese ancient buildings were built with wood structures, which are likely to decay after being weathered for hundreds of years and thus need to be repaired or consolidated. But such work should never be conducted in such a manner that the buildings are turned into virtually new ones.

    Such mistakes are often made in the preservation of such sites, and doing so to boost local tourism is largely to blame.

    With such misunderstanding, it is short-sighted to think that profits earned from tourism has more value than maintaining the cultural and historical integrity of these sites.

    This lesson should be serious enough for other sites of historical and cultural significance.

    (Source: China Daily)