Last Monday, the Travel Weekly of Information Times reported
news about “a national 5A-level scenic spot inspection team conducting unannounced visits to 24 5A-level scenic spots and providing rectification suggestions for 13 of them,” where the spots singled out for criticism were respectively the Nanyue Hengshan Scenic Area in Hunan and the Fujian Tulou (Nanjing) Tourism Area. Although Guangdong’s seven 5A-level scenic spots (Chimelong, Overseas Chinese Town, Baiyun Mountain, Meizhou Yannanfei, Shenzhen Mission Hills, Qingyuan Underground River, and Danxia Mountain) were not specifically criticized, many readers expressed great concern about how these scenic areas are managed and operated, and whether they truly live up to their 5A status. Reporters from Information Times then conducted on-site visits to some of these spots and found that Baiyun Mountain has many entrances and exits, with some hiking trails posing safety hazards; Happy Valley, being in the peak tourist season, has many amusement rides that require queuing, but the scenic area lacks sunshade and cooling facilities, and garbage cleanup is also not timely.
Written by Wei Ganlu, Reporter, Information Times
Investigation of Phenomena
Multiple Hidden Trails Lead to Baiyun Mountain; Garbage Falls from Above at Happy Valley’s “Dream River”
According to relevant standards, national 5A-level tourist attractions must have complete firefighting, theft prevention, and rescue equipment in terms of “tourist safety,” establish emergency rescue mechanisms, have contingency plans for handling emergencies, and possess strong emergency response capabilities. In terms of “sanitation layout,” basic requirements include keeping the environment clean, free of sewage or waste, and ensuring timely garbage cleanup. However, when reporters visited Baiyun Mountain and Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Town Happy Valley, they found certain issues with safety and sanitation at the scenic areas.
Guangzhou’s Baiyun Mountain is one of the scenic spots frequently visited by citizens for leisure, and the reporter has been there many times as well, discovering that the mountain has many entrances and exits, with many locals preferring to use toll-free “trails.” Near the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, there are multiple such trails leading in, which may pose safety risks for visitors. Earlier this year, a netizen posted on Tianya Forum that they and a friend were robbed while taking a shortcut from the university into Baiyun Mountain. Recently, the scenic area has stationed staff at the entrances of these trails to collect fees but has not discouraged people from using them.
Notably, in April this year, a young woman went missing mysteriously on Baiyun Mountain. Blind spots in the scenic area’s surveillance cameras cut off crucial clues in the search effort; the eight-day-long search also drew public skepticism due to the lack of a professional rescue team. The reporter also observed that during holidays, many spots on the mountain are crowded with people, yet hardly any security personnel are seen along the climb up Qianchi Steps. If tourists encounter emergencies like sudden illness on secluded paths, timely rescue could be quite difficult.
Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Town’s Happy Valley, under the OCT Group, is one of the top ten theme parks in Asia-Pacific. According to a friend from Shenzhen, on weekends or holidays, waiting in line for an amusement ride at Happy Valley often takes about three hours. Last Monday, the reporter visited Happy Valley. As it was a weekday, most rides did not require long waits, but during queues—often extending outdoors—there were no cooling or sunshade facilities besides one or two fans on indoor walls. Should visitors have to wait several hours during holidays under the scorching sun, comfort would be greatly compromised even if no heatstroke occurs.
The reporter also noticed that plastic bottles, tissues, and remnants of chicken wings and other trash could occasionally be seen in the grass along some pathways at Happy Valley. While waiting for the “Perfect Storm” ride, the reporter stepped on quite a few pieces of litter that hadn’t been cleaned up promptly. When waiting for the “UFO” attraction, the reporter saw plastic bags hanging from tree branches above, with the “Dream River” boat ride located directly below—posing a risk of falling debris onto tourists during their ride. The reporter further learned that Happy Valley has raised its ticket prices year after year; this year, the fare increased from 180 yuan last year to 200 yuan, allegedly due to new attractions, although the highly anticipated “Snow Eagle” ride has yet to be put into use.
Scenic Area Response: Some Happy Valley Visitors Lack Sanitation Awareness
Afterward, the reporter contacted Ms. Zeng, a staff member at Happy Valley, who explained that all rides undergo weekly, monthly, and annual inspections to ensure safety. The park's guidance system, including English signage, is well-developed, and employee service training is ongoing. Regarding the sanitation issues raised by the reporter, she noted that cleaning staff conduct regular sanitation sweeps daily, but given the vast area of the park, it’s impossible to guarantee cleanliness at every spot all the time. “When there are especially large crowds, if some visitors lack sanitation awareness and litter indiscriminately, we can’t really control that,” she said. It’s understood that Happy Valley receives an average of over 10,000 visitors per day, which can surge to over 20,000 during peak seasons. Ms. Zeng added that magicians or clown performances are usually available for those waiting in lines, but currently, the park has no additional measures for crowd diversion or sun protection. The reporter also contacted officials from the Baiyun Mountain Scenic Area Management Bureau, who stated they needed to verify the situation before responding. However, by the time this report was published, no response had been received from the scenic area.
Industry Perspective: Guangdong’s 5A-Level Scenic Areas Are Generally Well-Maintained
Mr. Huang, an industry insider with over a decade of experience in tourism management, told the reporter that according to standards, Danxia Mountain still has certain shortcomings in transportation advantages and the quality of facilities and equipment. Wu Xufeng, a renowned tourism planning expert and travel literature writer who has visited numerous scenic spots across the province, believes that the Lianzhou Underground River is relatively less distinctive in landscape features and smaller in scale. However, both insiders agreed that Guangdong’s 5A-level scenic areas generally perform quite well. “For instance, Danxia Mountain has seen continuous improvements in construction in recent years, and Overseas Chinese Town as well as Yannanfei have built reputable brands, which is commendable,” said Mr. Huang. Wu Xufeng also noted that the reputation and services of Yannanfei and Chimelong are solid, and after being designated as 5A, these scenic areas have remained committed to management and maintenance. “After all, if they didn’t do well, visitor numbers wouldn’t keep growing.”
As a professional manager, Mr. Huang has successfully helped three tourism enterprises achieve 4A status. He explained that applying for 4A or 5A certification sets better internal standards and norms for enterprises to regulate their behavior, helps with brand promotion for businesses and scenic spots externally, and provides travelers with a good assurance. However, he acknowledged that many scenic areas fail to maintain proper follow-up management after certification, resulting in issues like inadequate sanitation, poor surrounding environments, and misleading tourists into unnecessary spending—behaviors inconsistent with 5A standards. “After all, maintaining operations at the highest standards requires certain manpower and resources, and since current scenic area revenues mainly rely on the ‘ticket economy,’ some enterprises try to cut costs as much as possible. Therefore, government supervision and corporate self-discipline are both indispensable.”
On this point, Wu Xufeng pointed out that 5A is merely an external honor. The key to retaining visitors in the long run lies in cultivating the scenic area’s own quality. For many tourists, whether a scenic spot is 5A is not the most important factor. As long as it offers cultural distinctiveness, meets visitor needs, and provides quality services, people will be willing to go. He also emphasized that the national committee for tourism attraction grading currently includes very detailed regulations for items like toilets and signposts in its 5A evaluation criteria, but gives relatively little consideration to the cultural elements of the scenic areas—something that should be given more attention.
Reporter Observation
Prioritizing Visitor Interests Makes “Win-Win” Easier
During interviews, the reporter found that Hong Kong does not have a dedicated government agency for managing scenic areas. Management primarily relies on the self-discipline of operators. Coincidentally, the main responsibilities of Tourism Australia and state tourism bureaus are promotion, and they have no jurisdiction over individual scenic areas—the operational standards are also largely based on voluntary compliance. Yet, these destinations place great importance on visitor interests. Lin Baotong, Executive Director of Sky100 Hong Kong Observation Deck, told the reporter that the scenic spot arranges special staff to conduct “visitor satisfaction surveys,” which become important references for management decisions. Shane Stone, General Manager of Ayers Rock Resort in Australia, stated that visitor word-of-mouth is extremely important. “We encourage visitors to share their travel experiences on social media.”
Additionally, scenic areas pay significant attention to their social responsibilities. The reporter learned that major theme parks in Hong Kong—including Hong Kong Disneyland, Ocean Park, Madame Tussauds Hong Kong, and Sky100 Hong Kong Observation Deck—will form the Hong Kong branch of the global authority on theme parks this July. These venues will collaborate, holding monthly meetings to discuss how to improve management and service quality. Lin Baotong emphasized, “Making money is not our primary goal; we hope everyone benefits together.” Meanwhile, Ayers Rock Resort in Australia allocates part of its profits to support all activities of the Australian Indigenous Land Council. The resort not only provides job opportunities for Indigenous Australians but has also invested in building Indigenous training schools and has a comprehensive training program for Indigenous management personnel.
In contrast, many domestic attractions seem to still be focused solely on making money for themselves. To earn more revenue, they look for excuses to raise ticket prices; to save costs, they try every means to cut operational expenses. Of course, it’s only natural for enterprises to seek profits, but if doing so sacrifices visitor comfort or even compromises visitor safety, isn’t the cost too high? In reality, as long as a scenic area maintains its uniqueness, avoids blindly pursuing short-term gains, doesn’t obsess over 5A or 4A ratings, and instead focuses on steady internal improvement and visitor interests, achieving a “win-win” of reputation and profit should be more attainable—especially considering the enormous potential of China’s tourism market. According to preliminary estimates by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), China’s tourism and travel industry is expected to achieve an annual growth rate of 10.4% over the next decade, making China the world’s fourth-largest tourism economy. Additionally, the World Tourism Organization predicts that by 2020, China will become the world’s largest tourist destination country and the fourth-largest source of outbound tourists.