LIVING WITH LIMESTONE: SOME REFLECTIONS ON KARST MANAGEMENT IN CHINA
China is one of the great places in the world to look at the interactions between people and karst. The Chinese have had a long term interest in natural features and a long history of karst management. This is because about 30% of China consists of limestone and with a large and dense population, its inhabitants have had to come to terms with the limitations of living in karst areas over a very long period of time. The Chinese have two major interests in caves and karst. One is in development problems in karst landscapes; the other is in the aesthetic appreciation of natural landscapes.
The usual development pressures of any developing country are accentuated in karst landscapes. Many rural areas of the south-west of China such as Guangxi province, suffer problems of water supply, difficult terrain, social isolation, deforestation, land degradation and a low level of social development. Agriculture is concentrated on the karst plains and the floors of closed depressions. Any development is linked to a need for improvement in communications, which is difficult in such rugged terrain, and to the increased utilisation of underground water resources. The Chinese have developed some innovative measures to solve these problems and have a long history of "recognising, reshaping and utilising karst features" (Karst in China 1976). Huge water conservation and irrigation projects date from the Qin Dynasty (214 BC) and Eastern Han Dynasty (200 AD). More recently the People's Republic of China has seen the development problems of limestone areas as important and built underground dams to be used as reservoirs for irrigation water and other water conservation and hydro-electric projects as well as a range of other engineering constructions in karst regions (Karst in China 1976).
The other aspect of Chinese interest in karst contrasts with our own concepts of karst management. China currently has no recreational caving in our terms. There are no caving clubs as such, and any speleology tends to be conducted by academic institutions such as the Institute of Karst Geology in Guilin. However, the Chinese economy over the past ten years has generally improved so that China's population has more disposable time and money. Consequently, there is an increasing opportunity to develop and further an already strong interest in landscape through being able to visit different areas for holidays.
The Chinese have in particular, connected human well-being with phenomena in the physical world. The belief in heaven and the mutual influences between heaven and man are very important even in modern China. In particular, love of natural phenomena, especially beautiful places developed an important reverent intimacy between man and nature. This is essential in understanding Chinese literature as well as the peasants' concerns. This deep cultural interest in natural features is also expressed in Chinese art and literature. Chinese interest in natural features over the long term has resulted in names, e.g. "Moon-over-water Hill", "Folded Brocade Hill", which reflects the relationships between man and nature as well as being very evocative descriptions. Similarly this is evident in traditional Chinese art with the vertical limstone cliffs being a prominent motif. As a result, the Chinese are very interested in caves and karst landscapes from an aesthetic point of view.
This interest is shown in people's travel. In the past, many educated Chinese travelled - for examinations, for posts in the mandarinate (which were never in his own area) or if he had committed offences - exile. Long journeys were very much part of life for the educated classes. This is to some extent the same now and travelling is important in China. It reached its peak during the Cultural Revolution when young people travelled all over China. Such interest in travel combined with this cultural interest in natural features means people look at visiting areas of natural beauty on their travel. In addition, travel, whilst not always available to the majority of people in the past, was of great interest to the few who were able to do so. The stories of Buddhist monks' travels and of other travellers during the period up to the end of the Ming dynasty (about 16th century) show this, especially Xu Xia Ke.
During my visit to China in July 1991 it appeared that more Chinese people are now able to travel to traditional holiday regions and experience different landscapes. Changes in economic and social conditions have resulted in people having more money, more time and this alters holiday and recreation patterns. Cultural factors mean that traditional holiday areas must attract even more visitors than previously. These traditional holiday areas include many karst areas such as Guilin, Shilin (Stone Forest near Kunming), Yiling Caves (near Nanning) and Yixing (near Nanjing). Managers in these areas must deal with very large numbers of people who want to visit the natural features. In Yixing county, for example, there are five tourist caves and a karst walk as well as other tourist features. Three of the caves and the karst walk are managed by the county administration while the other two caves are managed by local village work units. These karst managers show a great appreciation for the visual features of caves. However, the bulk of visitors still prefer the fantasy type tours most Australian cave tours no longer offer. The practice of giving names to natural features is deeply ingrained in a society where many hills, especially in karst areas, are individually named, e.g. Seven Star Park (and Cave), Folded Brocade Hill and Moon-Over-Water Hill. Similarly this practice influences their tourist cave and karst interpretation and there is much more interest in what we would call "fantasy" interpretation.
The Chinese management in Yixing has also been aware of the need to accommodate very large numbers of visitors. Most caves have spacious paved areas to provide for very large tour groups. A particular example is in Yixing where they are managing 10,000 people per day in one cave alone. I cannot even imagine Guilin's figures as Yixing is a very much smaller tourist area.
The karst management organisation in Yixing county is very aware of the problems they face. Nanjing University Department of Geo and Ocean Sciences has within it a Natural Resources Centre headed by Professor Bao Hao Sheng. This centre concentrates on offering undergraduate and postgraduate courses in land management (112 per annum from each province) as well as an interest in karst geomorphology. As well as this or because of this they have interest in advising on karst management.
Those intending to go to China for the IUS Congress in 1993 should remember these issues. Our tastes are not necessarily theirs, but coloured lights are no more damaging to the cave than white lights. I believe there is a lot both countries can share in the perceptions of karst landscapes and would recommend a trip to China to see some of these quite special karst areas and appreciate a different interpretation of them.
REFERENCES:
Xu Xia Ke (cl650 Ming Dynasty). Journeys of Xu Xia Ke
Institute of Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology, Chinese Academy of Sciences) 1976. Karst In China. Shanghai People's Publishing House