Chinese celebrate the National Day on Oct. 1. (Photo : Getty Images)
While the National Day holiday created an exciting atmosphere among Chinese residents and tourists, it came with certain shortcomings from the peoples' side.
The Great Wall already observes a huge number of visitors on a daily basis. This number sees a significant increase during the weekends. When it comes to the National Day holiday, the numbers increase phenomenally. The Wall becomes flooded with people.
Naturally, this has a cost. Later in the day, countless picnickers had littered the entire place, with bags of chips and plastics floating along the banks of the Yellow River. Two young tourists had also carved their names on the Great Wall.
Such episodes have been vividly captured in photographs in hopes to effect a wave of soul-searching across China, emphasizing on the concerns of tourist habits in a nation that is splendidly rich, but at times falls short on behavioral norms.
To counter publicized episodes of ill-mannerisms exhibited in China and Chinese tourists traveling abroad, the government made efforts to frame a "tourism blacklist" to deride ill-mannered travelers last year. However, these efforts didn't seem fruitful given the events that had taken place this year.
The list categorizes public offenses that the public ought to refrain from. This includes harming public property/environment, deriding local customs and cultural relics, and illicit drug consumption.
Those who fail to conform might end up in this list, whether they're legally convicted or have committed some moral offense. Their names are given out to the Public Security Bureau, airlines, travel agencies and other work units.
This measure puts the list names under constant watch. They may even get barred from accessing tour groups and flights to scenic spots. However, there is no financial penalty involved.
The blacklist has had a slow start. This depicts how difficult it is for even an authoritarian nation to shape behavioral norms and police public behavior. The list is not accessible to the public, but it is said that it only has a total of 24 names in it.
If such governmental measures fail to bear fruit, the government might execute a better and more pragmatic policy that would even involve financial penalties, only to ensure that tourism isn't invited at the cost of environmental degradation.
