Watching how you tread
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Tourists hiking in Kumtag Desert, Xinjiang. Photo: Xinhua |
Since the United Nation's climate change conference in Copenhagen last month, low carbon tourism has seen a rise in popularity, with many travelers keen to reduce their carbon footprint while on vacation. China Tourism Administration recently announced low carbon development strategies as part of their plan to accelerate tourism, in an effort to minimalize the environmental impact of traveling.
Coinciding with the central government's inclusions, several local government administrations are implementing low carbon initiatives.
Miyun Tourism Bureau announced Friday a new low carbon tourism area that covers 200 square kilometers, with Fengjiayu district as its center. The plan includes controlling the number of tourists to the scenic area, encouraging the hiring of bicycles and exploration on foot instead of driving cars, building environmentally-friendly hostels and camping areas instead of luxury resorts and making use of clean energy such as solar and wind power. The bureau will also promote the area online rather than using printed publications.
Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province offers free bicycles for hire around its famous West Lake, with plans for a low carbon science and technology museum to be built in the city's hi-tech industry development zone also under way. Chen Weimin from the Hangzhou Tourism Bureau told the Global Times that walking trails are currently being constructed to connect the Middle and East rivers in the old part of Hangzhou.
Chen also said that there is a growing demand for official standards for travel and tourism carbon emissions in China, to help bureaus and tour operators structure low carbon activities related to travel.
Some organizations have adopted their own user-friendly means to promote environmen-tally-friendly practices.
"We began to use a carbon calculator on our website since 2006, to educate people about their carbon footprints and then they can practice carbon compensation by growing trees with us," Geng Dong from Shanshui Conservation Center told the Global Times. He said that if you travel from Beijing to Shanghai, your carbon footprint is 107.74 kilograms of carbon dioxide, if you choose the train, the result is only 12.65 kilograms.
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