Forest removed for golf complex

One 18-hole golf course has been completed in a national forest park in Guizhou province, with a complex of 90 additional holes planned, the equivalent of five more full-size courses.

A local official declined to give any further information on Tuesday, saying the case is under investigation.

The golf course complex is being constructed in the Zilin Mountain National Forest Park in Dushan county, which is designated as a forest zone with 92.57 percent forest coverage.

Shanghai Zhongti Group, an investor, built the golf course complex as one project of the Guilong international health center. The project has been under way since 2012.

The complex is scheduled to open in July or August, charging 9,600 yuan ($1,537) for an annual membership.

Thirty villas will be completed in the forest zone to sell at 5,000 yuan per square meter.

Artificial grass is now seen instead of trees in the park, Beijing Youth Daily reported on Tuesday.

More than 1,300 hectares of mountain forestation has been removed for the golf course complex, the newspaper reported.

"We reported the information and called for a halt to their use of the land but failed," said a staff member from local land resource administration bureau. The bureau has no the law enforcement power, the staffer said.

Golf courses have mushroomed since the first one was built in Guangdong province in 1984. To slow their spread, the State Council banned golf course construction in 2004.

jiatingting@chinadaily.com.cn