Dongfeng government wants to manage Shaolin tourism
The Dengfeng municipal government of Henan province reached an agreement with the Hong Kong-based China Travel Service Group (CTS) create a company to manage all the tourism near the famous Shaolin Temple on Songshan Mountain in Henan. The company will even go public in 2011, according to a report at people.com.cn. There's one catch: they forgot to tell the Shaolin monks themselves.
"The government did not let the Shaolin Temple part know the agreement, because we haven't announced the operation to the public yet," said Cui Shiying, the head of the Dongfeng city party committee's publicity department.
Under the terms of the "Cooperation Framework Agreement" made on October 21, the two sides would jointly invest a total of 100 million yuan ($14.6 million) to set up the "Dengfeng Songshan Shaolin Culture and Travel Company." The company would manage all ticket sales, hotels, and tourism in the area. The agreement is valid for 40 years.
The government's contribution to the agreement will be access to the Shaolin Temple itself, which they have valued at 49 million yuan ($7.17 million). CTS will contribute the remaining 51 million. But it is not at all clear that the Shaolin Temple is the Dongfeng government's to give.
"The Shaolin Temple is national assets, not of Shaolin Temple itself or the local government. The Dengfeng administration shouldn’t make the decision all by itself, but hear more from experts and the public," said Qian Daliang, manager of Intellectual Property and Intangible Assets Management Center of Shaolin Temple.
Ticket sales at the Shaolin Temple account to 150 million yuan ($21.9 million) every year, the report said, and a good portion of that money currently goes to the temple. Under the new agreement, all the money would go to the new Dongfeng Songshan Shaolin Culture and Travel Company.