SUN MOON LAKE, Taiwan-Sun Moon Lake has been compared to a
classical Chinese landscape painting with its crystal waters reflecting
surrounding snow-capped mountains.
But a hotel building boom around the mountain resort in
central Taiwan has locals and environmentalists worried the un-spoilt beauty of
the lake, which draws 3 million tourists a year, might be ruined.
"Sun Moon Lake is a very important international site, and
such an important resource should be protected," said Liu Ming-lone, spokesman
for the Environmental Quality Protection Foundation, a Taipei-based
non-governmental organization.
Seven hotels are being planned and built on the lakeshores,
with some of them charging as much as $500 per night. One 200-room hotel just
opened, while two more hotels are under construction. Another four hotels are
being planned, including a high-end 100-room hotel resort and a 400-room
two-star hotel geared toward budget tourists from Mainland China.
Prospects for a tourism deal with China, which does not have
diplomatic relations with Taiwan, have spurred development as the region
prepares to host millions of well-heeled Chinese visitors should tourism
agreements be reached between Beijing and Taipei.
The lake is well known in China where descriptions in
literature and textbooks give the impression that its beauty is unmatched on the
mainland. Legal barriers to Chinese citizens entering Taiwan, a self-ruled
island that China regards as a renegade province, give the lake an extra
mystique.
But some locals suspect the hordes of tourists in China eager
to visit the lake might be disappointed as development has already caused water
pollution and traffic congestion. Locals also complain about unregulated
construction without a unified theme as well as breaches of building codes.
"We don't need to limit the number of people, but we need to
limit the number of buildings," said Roger Chang, 28, a regular visitor to the
lake.
One of the hotels under construction will be 30-storeys high,
far above new lake area height restrictions of seven storeys.
"With such a beautiful lake, we need some sort of master
planned design to make it work out," said Hu Shan-wen, owner of the 6-year-old
Spa Home hotel on the lakeshores.
Faced with a faltering economy and high unemployment, the
Taiwan government is keen to ramp up tourism to stimulate the services sector.
Some critics believe it's eagerness is overcoming any prudence over Sun Moon
Lake development projects.
Local authorities promise to put a cap on lakeshore
development after the hotels in the pipeline are built, although construction
will be allowed to proceed in the surrounding mountains with easy vehicle access
to the lake.
There's concern the already congested two-lane highway to the
lake will further clog with traffic when the new hotels open up despite a new
shoreline shuttle bus route around the lake.
"There's still space to develop, but we should add only a few
more hotels as there are transportation limits," said Joe Tseng, general manager
of The Lalu, the shoreline's most famous lodging.
Locals are also concerned that the development boom will
cause pollution that might muddy the lake's pristine waters.
Last year, lake pollution rose about 2 percent from 2006 and
the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration fined four hotels for
improper treatment of wastewater.
"Lake water quality is very important," said tourism official Tseng Kuo-chi.
"Right now it's being maintained well but as tourist numbers go up, we're afraid
the quality could go down." -Reuters
