Uncivilized behavior by mainland tourists is not uncommon, and even the relatively less-visited Mount Everest (also known as Qomolangma or Everest) base camp has suffered from tourist “graffiti.” In response, the Tibet Autonomous Region government has announced plans to establish a blacklist system.

Pengpai News reported that Mount Everest is located in the Himalayas on the border between mainland China and Nepal, covered in snow year-round, with an elevation of 8,844.43 meters, making it the world’s highest peak. The northern slope of Everest lies within Dingri County, Shigatse, Tibet, and the Everest Base Camp is set up at an altitude of 5,200 meters to accommodate climbers and tourists.

The report pointed out that on the monument at the Everest Base Camp, black graffiti has even covered the originally red-marked words “Everest Base Camp.”

These graffiti include names, short phrases, and drawings, which are particularly jarring up close.

Since May this year, black “graffiti” on the Everest Base Camp monument has increased again.

Gu Chunlei, deputy director of the Dingri County Tourism Bureau in Tibet, pointed out that starting every May, the Everest Base Camp scenic area gradually enters its peak tourist season, and graffiti within the area also increases. Phrases like “I was here” and signatures such as “XXX” can be seen everywhere, including on the monument at the Gyawula Mountain Everest Viewpoint and the Everest Base Camp monument.

He stated that the breathtaking natural beauty is marred by the abundance of graffiti on the stone monuments, losing some of its charm. Such “uncivilized behavior” should be strongly condemned.

Gu Chunlei said that starting this year, a blacklist system will be established for tourists who engage in graffiti and similar behaviors, and these individuals will be exposed in the media.

In April 2015, China’s National Tourism Administration issued the “Interim Measures for the Management of Records of Uncivilized Behavior by Tourists,” which stipulates that records of such behavior will be kept for one to two years, calculated from the date the information is verified. 1050509

(CNA)