The ecological and visual landscape of Huangshan Mountain, a renowned scenic spot in East China's Anhui Province, is under threat due to excessive construction.

The myriad building projects - including hotels, shops and entertainment centers - have not been curtailed in the mountain area, according to a recent report by China Central Television.

Also, an ambitious water-introducing project involves the building of a second reservoir at the mountain's largest water source - Wuliqiao - to meet the increasing demand for water by tourist facilities.

Work on the planned dam for the reservoir has destroyed nearby vegetation and contaminated waterways with sand and earth, according to the survey.

The management committee of Huangshan Mountain, an official department under the local municipal government in charge of local environmental protection and tourism development, yesterday admitted the ongoing projects did, to some degree, harm the local environment but insisted the projects strictly observed the national environmental protection standards.

"These construction programs mostly belong to innovation efforts," said He Shenyang, a senior official with the committee. The local authority currently has no plans to stop such projects.

"The efforts will not increase the occupation of the mountain area," He said.

According to He, the reservoir will also provide more water for irrigation and fire-fighting during droughts.

However, Xie Ninggao, an environmental and tourist expert at Peking University, sees the continuous construction as a serious problem.

Officials with the National Tourism Administration yesterday said they have noticed the excessive construction in Huangshan and will carry out further investigations.

(China Daily February 27, 2002)