Aushang: Verfasst von wtanaka (648) am Do, 2006-02-16 10:19. | Betreff: Preservation: Sure, It's a Good Thing, but..

New York Times article about how World Heritage sites status can turn a place into a mass tourist attraction, rather than protecting it.

In Lijiang, China, where his group has been working to preserve the ancient houses and culture of the Naxi people, he said that soon after its nomination to the list in 1997, Lijiang was beleaguered by development.

"They had no zoning, no planning," Mr. Morgan said. "Suddenly the first tourist hotels went in." Soon, he said, there was so much building, "it's not interesting anymore."