BEIJING - When Zhang Jianting, vice-mayor of Hangzhou, heard the World Heritage Committee (WHC) had inscribed the West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou on the UNESCO's World Heritage List on Friday night in Paris, he broke into tears.

Zhang knows the city has come a long way in helping the West Lake get recognized by the WHC. He remembered the first time the West Lake made a bid several years ago and how a European world heritage expert had told him: "There are thousands of lakes like that in my hometown."

That summed up the frustration he felt with so many Westerners who had yet to realize the true significance of the lake.

The 35th session of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee has finally recognized the West Lake and its hinterland as an extraordinary model of cultural landscape, which reflects Chinese philosophy and aesthetics and which has inspired countless landscape artists in China and abroad.

Surrounded by mountains on three sides, the 3,322-hectare area is already a national cultural icon with beautiful scenic spots, all with individual myths and legends. After centuries of enhancement, the area is appreciated as a unique combination of nature and artifice.

Spread across 5.66 square kilometers of water divided into five territorial zones by causeways and dikes, the area is enhanced by numerous bridges, towers, terraces, pavilions, pagodas, grottoes and temples.

According to the Chinese State Bureau of Cultural Relics, the lake's preparatory work for World Heritage inscription kicked off in 1990, initiated by the Hangzhou municipality, and supported by the State Bureau since 2008.

Keeping in mind the principles of preserving the authenticity, integrity and outstanding universal value of World Heritage sites, the Chinese government is dedicated to the continual protection and management of the West Lake Landscape, said Tong Mingkang, vice-director of the Chinese State Bureau of Cultural Relics.

Many worry that the West Lake's new prestige may mean higher charges for entry into this beautiful paradise. Since 2002, the West Lake has been the only top tourist site in China that does not charge a general entry fee, and there are 130 scenic spots in the park that do not charge admission.

The few which sell tickets, such as the Lingyin Temple, do so more as a move to limit visitors in order to protect their historical relics.

Now there is concern that free entry may end.

Zhang Wei, the founder of oldbeijing.org, a devoted guardian of history, said on his microblog that the West Lake might soon be forced to up the charges.

Addressing those concerns, Wang Guoping, head of the West Lake's world heritage application team, told Xinhua that the city government would continue to stick to its guiding principles. The park will still be open to the public without any charge, ticket prices of scenic spots will not rise, and no real estate projects will be allowed in the designated area.

"The aim in getting the West Lake listed as a World Heritage site is to protect the lake and benefit our future generations. We want to let the West Lake live for another 2,000 years. And protection will be the eternal theme," Wang said.

This is the ninth consecutive year that Chinese sites have entered the World Heritage List. The West Lake Landscape is the 41st World Heritage site in China.

Xinhua - China Daily

(China Daily 06/26/2011 page16)