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Thirty years of forest tourism in China

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Journal of Forest Research

Abstract

The status quo of forest parks, including National Forest Parks (NFPs), and the problems they are facing in China are reviewed. A large amount of Chinese-language literature is not easily accessible to the international scientific community. Forest tourism started in 1982 with the establishment of Zhangjiajie NFP, the first designated NFP in China. Recently, both the number of forest tourists and the amount of revenue from the entry fee to the forest parks have increased by approximately 20 % each year. The sharp increase of forest tourism generates impressive revenues and improves the regional economy near the forest parks. The large number of forest visitors has placed much pressure on natural resources. Tourism facilities built inside the protected area pollute the water, and biological integrity has been deteriorating. Under the conditions of a lack of appropriate legislation and management by several organizations, forest tourism is in a dilemma about to how to develop in a way that is sustainable and which promotes the local economy.

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Notes

  1. The Ministry of Forestry was established in 1951 and renamed as the SFA in 1998.

  2. Deng Xiaoping was called the chief architect of China’s reform and opening up program. In January 1992 at the crucial juncture of China’s reform and opening up program, Deng Xiaoping conducted an inspection tour of southern China where he delivered a series of speeches aimed at pushing construction of special economic zones at a faster speed.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Dr Jinyang Deng for his valuable comments on the manuscript. Thanks also go to Ms Suxing Cai for her help with collecting literature in Chinese.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. United Nations University-Institute of Advanced Studies Operating Unit Ishikawa /Kanazawa, Shiinoki Cultural Complex, 3F, 2-1-2 Hirosaka, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-0962, Japan

    Bixia Chen

  2. Department of Subtropical Agricultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus, 1-banchi, Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0213, Japan

    Bixia Chen & Yuei Nakama

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  1. Bixia Chen
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  2. Yuei Nakama
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Correspondence to Yuei Nakama.

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Chen, B., Nakama, Y. Thirty years of forest tourism in China. J For Res 18, 285–292 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-012-0365-y

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