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General Buddhism => General Buddhism => Topic started by: bambi on July 22, 2012, 06:04:34 AM
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After all they have done to Tibet, now they want to build a theme park? When I first read it, I thought, not bad. A way of bringing tourist to visit the Holy places. It is not that bad right? I would look at the whole situation as an optimist but with so much tension going on and self immolation, I wonder if it will help ease it.
Do any of you think that it is advisable to have the theme park?
Authorities want to attract 15 million tourists to Tibet per year but local groups worry about damage to traditional culture.
Lhasa, Tibet (China) -- Chinese officials have announced plans to build a £3bn Tibetan culture theme park outside Lhasa in three to five years.
(http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/picture/upload/Jokhang-temple-in-Lhasa-T-008.jpg)
A worshipper at Jokhang temple in Lhasa: Chinese authorities say proposed theme park would reduce tourist pressure on the city's main sights.
Authorities see developing tourism as crucial to the economic future of Tibet and have set a goal of attracting 15 million tourists a year by 2015, generating up to 18bn yuan (£1.8bn), in a region with a population of just 3 million.
But Tibetan groups have expressed concern that the surge in tourism has also eroded traditional culture and that the income has economically benefited Han Chinese more than Tibetans.
Ma Xinming, deputy mayor of the city, told journalists that the park would cover 800 hectares (1980 acres) on a site just over a mile from the centre. He said it would improve the Tibetan capital's attractiveness to tourists and be a landmark for its cultural industry, state news agency Xinhua reported.
The mayor said it would include attractions themed around Princess Wencheng – the seventh-century niece of a Tang Dynasty emperor who married a king from Tibet's Yarlung dynasty – whose tale has been embraced by Chinese authorities as a parable of ethnic harmony.
The park will include outdoor shows about the princess, along with other educational and entertainment facilities. Business and residential districts would also be included.
Ma said the park would also reduce tourist pressure on the Jokhang Temple and the Barkhor in the heart of old Lhasa, helping to protect the city's heritage.
According to state media, the number of visitors to the region rose by 25.7% year-on-year in the first five months of 2012. The tourism bureau has said Tibet expects 10 million tourists this year – up one million from last year – with tourism revenues growing to 12bn yuan. But foreigners were last month indefinitely banned from visiting, amid growing tension.
The announcement came after two Tibetan men set fire to themselves in Lhasa. Tibetan areas across western China have seen a spate of self-immolations, with those involved protesting against Chinese policies.
Officials in China often see theme parks as a way to develop tourism, though many have failed to attract the investment and visitors they anticipated. Whether the Lhasa government ends up building the project on the massive scale envisaged remains to be seen.
Professor Robert Barnett, an expert on Tibetan culture at Columbia University, said that while some officials had talked about environmentally and culturally appropriate tourism in Tibet, "this represents a nail in the coffin – symbolically and perhaps practically – of attempts by Tibetans and Chinese to promote that."
He added: "To recoup that cost, you have to have tourism on an unimaginable scale."
Barnett said Tibetans might well go to the theme park themselves, but would also be likely to question whether it was good for their culture and worth the huge investment.
"They are very acutely aware of these issues ... but I am not sure they have any form to ask them publicly," he said.
Xinhua reported last month that officials have also earmarked more than 400m yuan to develop tourism in Nyingchi prefecture in southeastern Tibet, renowned for its scenic beauty.
In addition to creating an international "Swiss-style" tourism town, the schemes will involve building 22 "model villages", where tourists will be able to enjoy homestays. Critics have warned the plan could damage the fragile environment.
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What are they thinking!! A theme park in Lhasa? Om my Buddha ! Way would be the theme of the park? Disney land style? With Mickey mouse and Donna ducks running around in traditional Tibetan outfits? This is so wrong!
And who, in their right frame of mind, would want to go for a theme park in Tibet ? People are drawn to Tibet seeks spirituality and cultural attractions. NOT theme park!
This is so gonna be a failure..
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I think on a profit level. This is a very clever thing to do. However, on a spiritual level, I believe that this is a foolish thing to do. People who want to experience peace and serenity will go to Lhasa and now, they have to have a distraction of a theme park. I think that this theme park will absorb those who have weaker minds. The stronger and more devoted people will still go to the temples and such in search of spirituality.
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What comes to mind when we talk about theme parks is Disneyland. Will the tourists be attracted to another theme park outside Lhasa when Disneyland is currently the best in the World and conveniently located around the World? Tibet is well-known in the World today for Tibetan Buddhism and its beautiful and scenic natural environments. Surely tourists would not travel to Tibet to visit another theme park!
A theme park outside Lhasa may be a good idea if the theme park is able to attract the tourists to Tibetan Buddhism. Refer to the other thread: Transcendental Billionaire http://bit.ly/Mw3RPK (http://bit.ly/Mw3RPK) where Esselworld and Water Kingdom theme parks have attracted many people to Vipassana Meditation at The Global Vippassana Pagoda.
The Chinese authorities should give due consideration to the effect of this new theme park on the traditional tourist attractions otherwise the plan may backfires.
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i think from the past till today, most of people who visited tibet are people who were seeking for spiritual path, pilgrimage, looking for tibet tradition and culture, love serene or beautiful sight which are adult who age above 20 years old. And not much of young people or children who visit tibet and in order to build a theme park, it will attract the younger group of tourist.
Well, it does not seem to go along with tibetan tradition, culture and sacred monasteries which attract people to go visit but in view of investment this is to increase number of tourist. Sadly to say, people try to preserve their culture and that attract tourist to come but here they want to build theme park for entertainment. I wonder what will be the out come?
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I believe it's good to build a theme park outside Lhasa because it is projected to attract 15 million tourists. Imagine 15 million people going to the theme park and going for a tour at the Buddhist monasteries? How many seeds of Enlightenment are planted in the people's mind streams without them knowing?
Take a look at Lingshan Temple in Wuxi, China. The entire property feels like a Buddhist theme park. Entrance fee is RMB180 per person! It is so commercialised.
This is China's tallest Buddha statue at 88 meters.
(http://[url=http://www.chinawhisper.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Lingshan-Giant-Buddha.jpg]http://www.chinawhisper.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Lingshan-Giant-Buddha.jpg[/url])
This is the Lingshan Buddhist Palace. It is a complex within the property that has convention halls and a theatre depicting the life story of Shakyamuni Buddha.
(http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQOyIMZTS6VlaxJmw70Z1twVym62JkxaQF0Sk6Gyfyk9MWRKp_ExA)
The spectacular theatre.
(http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSc7J7xaRs1vBCIpTMFI0oyILMqi54mzUw44FwUdlHnYkkSrIkd)
It's definitely not a place to seek solace and retreat. But I guess it appeals to the modern minds who are attracted to material things in life. I believe it's a good start to spread Buddhism after so many years of Communism.
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Chinese officials have announced plans to build a Tibetan Culture theme park outside Lhasa in three to five years.The park will include outdoor shows about Princess Wen Cheng,the seventh century niece of a Tang Dynasty Emperor who married a King from Tibet's Yarlung Dynasty-whose tale has been embraced by Chinese authorities as a parable of ethnic harmony.
The park will have other educational and entertainment facilities,business and residential districts would also be included.
There are pros and cons in this project.Positive side is that tourist who come to the theme park will most probably visit the monastery.
The downside is that the local community may turn materialistic instead.
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This is China's tallest Buddha statue at 88 meters.
(http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ6e1RXcK7UimWOdKamJP5CjD-Aqe2sYpTK8pR1FghQOZRIS-v7oA)
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The first think that comes to my mind of a theme park is Disneyland which I feel is inappropriate. Tourists visit Tibet because of its culture and spirituality and not for entertainment or fun. However, if a theme park is built to promote Tibetan culture and Tibetan Buddhism it is alright and the seeds of Enlightenment can be imprinted in the minds of the visitors. Also while visiting the theme park, the tourist can visit Jokhang Temple and the Barkhor in the heart of old Lhasa. It will also help to generate revenue for the country through tourism.
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i think it is a good ideal to build a theme park . I mean put it this way, theres no doubt lhasa is a holy place but nowaday the streets are full with shop that open by chinese and became very commercialize . YA, talking about damage to traditional culture. theres still many peoples around the world doesn't know where is lhasa and what is it about, so to me - why not having a theme park that will attract 15 million tourists and from there even just 10% of them went over to monasteries , it will help them so much by just plant the seed to their mind.
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From what I understand, one of the reasons why Buddhism is preserved so well in Tibet is because of its seclusiveness. There have not been too much of "globalisation" or "invasion" of western culture and materialism in Tibet.
I do have concern about preserving the tradition when the theme park is opened. With the influx of tourists, it would surely create a lot of issues. There are many places in China, where when the tourists flooded the place, the natural site are destroyed. I would really like to see Lhasa as a place of mystical :)
Having said that, I have been to the Lingshang Buddhist theme park and it is REALLY beautify. I would say we really need to have more Buddhist based theme parks or theme parks inspired by Buddhism :)
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According to state media, the theme park will also showcase Tibetan folk arts and medicine and highlight the historic ties between China and Tibet.
Ma Xinming, Lhasa's vice mayor, said in a press briefing Friday that the project would create a "living museum" of Tibetan culture and relieve pressure on existing attractions in old Lhasa. A new residential area and commercial district, he said, would further aid in protecting the city's heritage.
Many Tibetans are none too pleased about the rush to develop and criticize China's heavy-handed rule. They express concerns that any increase in income benefits Han Chinese much more than ethnic Tibetans. Furthermore, they accuse the government of religious persecution and cultural assimilation. Huge projects such as the upcoming theme park and "Swiss-style" towns, they argue, only make things worse.
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It is not the theme park that will erode the traditional culture, it is what comes about with the theme park, it is fast transportation, cars, planes, trains, it is communication, it is internet, it is our modern society.
The theme park is only one of the sprouts. By not having the theme park, we do not remove the causes that erode traditional cultures all over the world.
A theme park in Lhasa can also have many opportunities to bring Dharma to more people as said here above.
Personally I can't think a minute that a theme park is nice in any way, but we must think broader, right?
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Personally, I think it would be a good idea to have a theme park in Lhasa. As per the projections of the authorities, it will bring in 15 million tourists to Tibet per year. It will provide job opportunities for the locals and at the same time, better infrastructures to surrounding areas. I read that the planners are to create a theme park that will be based on the history and culture of Tibet. This will definitely draw the attention of the whole world and many more people will visit Lhasa, not just for religious purpose.
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Theme park is always good to in order to attract tourist into Lhasa, personally i do not think it is wrong to have it built. It'll be great we can incorporate Tibetan culture and religion into the them park be it the design and also some shows to educate tourists so they can be learning and playing as the same time. Can't stop visualizing a massive stage play and dance about Lama Tsongkhapa as well as Buddha Shakyamuni. It'll definitely be a good vehicle to promote Buddhism into the whole world and planting a Buddha seed.
At the same time also it could also create more jobs opportunity for the locals directly or indirectly. All things sure have their pros and cons, cause and effect, will this theme park create a more materialistic culture into Tibetan? Maybe?
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In my opinion, why not? I look at it as another form of venue for modern people or communities to visit holy places of Buddhist monasteries let alone experiencing the Tibetan culture. Projected 15 million tourists to visit...that is huge number! How else can someone bring that kind of influx to visit and be blessed for Enlightenment? Having this can bring in revenues to help in maintaining, sustaining the Buddhist sites and to create the required jobs for the many people there. Moreover, having this theme park will definitely bring in many more people in the long run to visit Lhasa be it for spiritual or not.
Similar views on why the need to commercialise Buddhist sites for sustainability: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=2245.0 (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=2245.0)
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To me the idea of a theme park in mystical, magical, spiritual and beautiful Lhasa just reeks of crass commercialism and poor taste. Isn't there enough theme parks in China, much less in the world, to cater to the idiosyncrasy of the fun loving tourists seeking mindless pleasures and delusions? Do we really want to attract such people to Lhasa? Of course one could argue that attracting these pleasure seeking tourists to such a spiritual place could have a positive effect on their samsaric mindstream, that visiting or even breathing in the sites would affect a spiritual imprint...so on. Seriously? I am not convinced. Travellers visiting specific places have specific reasons for making that long trip, eg. to see the Eiffle Tower in Paris, to visit the Himalayas in Nepal, to see the Taj Mahal in India, to walk the Camino in Santiago, to climb Mount Everest etc...People who take the trouble to come all the way to Lhasa want to visit the temples, the monasteries, & experience the cultural heritage of the beautiful Tibetans...not to visit a theme park! Leave the profiteering and commercialism in Disneyland, Legoland, WhiteWater World, Universal Studios, Kidzania and preserve the sanctity of Lhasa.
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I think this is a good idea to have a theme park built in beautiful Lhasa! It may seem very commercial but think of the benefit of of the visitors that will receive when they come to Lhasa. I am referring to spiritual imprints here.
Tourist brings in money and also prosperity into the area. Generally it will benefit the locals to at least make some money out of tourists and i feel there's no harm having a theme park there as it will improve the quality of life in Lhasa. More people will be exposed to Tibetan culture and as i have mentioned, it will only do good than harm.
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Building a theme park in Lhasa is one way to attract the tourist dollars. I do not see anything wrong in developing this. It may be commercial but the droves of tourists will increase. To cater to this expected influx, jobs will be created and thus the income level of the people will be improved. Hopefully, this will bring about an improved level of quality in life.
It will also create more exposure of the Tibetan culture to the world out of Tibet/China.
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Well.. Think about another side of coin, this might be the point to attract tourists to visit Tibet apart from the beautiful culture and mystical history..
I wish this will bring more tourist to visit Tibet and tibetan buddhist and culture get exposure to people from all over the world apart from the tibetan buddhist that spread by the high lama who leave their country in the past.