| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GLOBAL HERITAGE FUND INSTRUMENTAL
IN TRANSFORMING 1,000-YEAR-OLD CHINESE TOWN INTO TOP
DOMESTIC TOURIST DESTINATION
PALO ALTO, CALIF. – Global Heritage
Fund’s efforts not only to preserve one of the
last ancient towns in China but also to spur economic
development and sustainable tourism to support the
community around it have earned the non-profit organization
a place as one of three finalists for Smithsonian
Magazine/Travelers Conservation Foundation 2004 Sustainable
Tourism Award.
Since beginning its efforts in Lijiang
Ancient Town in Yunnan, China, in 2001, Global Heritage
Fund (GHF) has been instrumental in helping transform
the 1,000-year-old town into China’s top domestic
tourist destination. In fact, the number of visitors
each year to Lijiang has increased from 300,000 to
800,000.
“When we first began our efforts,
many of the 4,000 native Naxi families were leaving
because of poor living conditions. In addition, unchecked
and unsightly modern development/construction was
drastically changing the landscape,” says Jeff
Morgan, executive director of GHF, an international
conservancy dedicated to preserving and protecting
mankind’s most important archaeological and
cultural heritage sites in developing countries.
“Through scientific planning and
catalyst funding, we were able to reverse the exodus
of Naxi families and eliminate many unsightly modern
construction projects,” he adds.
Working in partnership with the Lijiang
Ancient Town Management Committee and Shanghai Tong Ji Urban Planning
and Design Institute, GHF sponsored a Master Conservation
Plan that addressed permanent protection of the core
areas and provided guidelines for zoning and land
use and authentic restoration of deteriorating architecture.
“We developed a plan that called
for restoring ancient homes and streetscapes, providing
better sanitation and sewage systems, and improving
water quality, as well as reversing the unplanned
development,” says Morgan.
GHF also established a matching Preservation Incentive
Fund, which provided micro-loans and grants to low-income
residents to participate in the conservation work,
allowing them to remain in their communities and ensure
sustainability.
GHF also helped erect two new gateways
which reduced crowding for visitors to Lijiang. “The
goals of our Master Conservation Plan were the protection
of cultural heritage and land, authentic restoration
and preservation as well as improvement in the quality
of life for the Naxi people,” says Morgan. “In
three short years, GHF and our partners have made
major strides toward those goals and Lijiang is a
true model for heritage conservation and sustainable
tourism.
“Funding from the Smithsonian
Magazine/Travelers Conservation Foundation 2004 Sustainable
Tourism Award would enable us to continue to restore
and preserve Lijiang Ancient Town so that it can welcome
even more tourists in the years to come.”
To show your support for Global Heritage
Fund’s Lijiang Ancient Town project as the recipient
of the Smithsonian Magazine/Travelers Conservation
Foundation 2004 Sustainable Tourism Award, visit www.sustainabletourism.com.
About Global Heritage Fund
Global Heritage Fund is the leading international
conservancy preserving endangered world heritage sites
in developing countries. The conservancy’s goal
is to enable successful, long-term preservation of
humankind’s most important archaeological sites
and ancient townscapes, creating new opportunities
for economic growth. Global Heritage Fund uses its
Preservation by Design methodology to develop comprehensive
Master Conservation Plans, provide early matching
grants and training, build local institutions and
promote sustainable tourism development to further
permanent protection for global cultural treasures.
Global Heritage Fund is a registered non-profit international
conservancy based in Palo Alto, California.
At the very heart of GHF’s conservation efforts
are the organization’s Leaders in Conservation,
the Advisory Board, and Trustees for Global Heritage,
a distinguished network of philanthropists and foundations
committed to preserving and protecting these endangered
one-of-a-kind archaeological and world heritage sites.
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