It is what Beijing is planning to construct in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.
HOPSCA means Hotel, Office, Park, Shopping Mall, Convention, and Apartments.
According to this article of the China Tibet Online, an entire new district (HOPSCA) will be built in Lhasa to cater to Chinese tourists.
Small mercy for the Tibetan cultural, District D will be "full of Tibetan ethnic styles with a main part of shopping malls displaying typical Tibetan goods."
I am being ironic; it is indeed extremelly sad: this new type of buisness project can only create more resentment amongst the few 'locals' still living in the Tibetan capital.
Phayul.com reported that a senior Chinese academician has recently called for policy overhaul in China’s aid programmes in Tibet blaming them for causing 'disappointing effect' on the local economy.
Jin Wei, director of Ethnic Religious Studies at the CCP's Central Party School believes that the region has failed to create a foundation for sustainable growth.
During a seminar in Beijing, Jin said that 70 percent of the 987 central government aid projects to Tibet between 1984 and 2005 had little immediate effect on boosting economic growth in the region.
The report affirmed: "A number of scholars at the forum stated that aid policies to ethnic regions need to adapt to local conditions and include participation from local communities”.
It is exactly what the HOPSCA will not do.
On the contrary, it will aleniate further the Tibetan population.
In September 2011, Beijing announced its plans to spend some 50 billion U.S. dollars on 226 key projects ranging from railway and dam building to mining and promoting tourism in Tibet within the next five years.
As Phayul.com put it: "Tibetans have long argued that China’s grand projects in Tibet are planned and implemented without consultation, consent, and knowledge of the local Tibetans."
For the Tibetan 'locals', the HOPSCA will probably be the worse ever project undertaken on the Roof of the World.
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| Chinese tourists will be able to buy 'highlander' barley wine |
Lhasa's new district to build 15 major projects
2012-12-19
Lucy Qin
China Tibet Online
Lhasa's Liu Wu District will commence 15 construction projects in 2013, according to the district's adminiatrative committee.
The 15 major projects cover business and people's livelihood, such as Liu Wu HOPSCA (hotel, office, park, shopping mall, convention, and apartment), Kangrin International, the Liu Wu District Hospital and the local markets.
Fifteen projects with 3.7- billion-yuan investment
As a typical modern city demonstrative area,the Liu Wu District gathered popularity during the past two years through a chain of launched projects, including the Lhasa Cultural and Sports Center, the landscape water system and international headquarters city mall. According to the staff of the Economic and Development Bureau of the Liu Wu District, 15 major projects will be built next year with a total of investment of 3.7 billion yuan (about US$592.74 million).
As soon as these projects, which are related to people's livelihood and business areas, are put into use, the infrastructure of the Liu Wu District will be further improved and the business circle in this district will also be formed.
In order to ensure that all the projects have a good beginning and can run smoothly, the district's administrative committee held a special session and assigned 15 people to be in charge of the respective project.
Four business districts to form in the Liu Wu HOPSCA
It is reported that the Liu Wu HOPSCA will cover an area of 560,000 square meters aimed to be the sole tourist complex in Lhasa, filling the gap in current Lhasa business.
Speaking of its superiority, the project is situated near the Lhasa railway station and the long-distance bus station. It is also the beginning of the Lhasa airport expressway, also known as "the city's golden port". In addition, the HOPSCA also includes part of the 1000-meter-long Lhasa River and the 3000-meter-long riverbank, where the Potala Palace is also within the view.
Since there has been no business project integrated with both the Tibetan cultural and natural features before, the HOPSCA will fill the tourism business consumption void.
The HOPSCA project is estimated to invest 1.7 billion yuan (about $272.34 million) with four separated business districts.
The District A is "golden twin towers", including the main part of the five-star Gesar Palace Hotel, a first grade office building and a high-end podium building. The major commercial venues are in five star hotels, business headquarters and brand stores. Upon completion, they will become landmark buildings in Lhasa.
The Districts B and C are the sky street on the snowland, including commercial walking streets and the affiliated first-grade office building area. The major commercial activities will be conducted in the small and medium-sized enterprises and commercial streets.
The District D is the full of Tibetan ethnic styles with a main part of shopping malls displaying typical Tibetan goods. The major commercial activities will be carried out in the local commodity market with stores of large furniture, furnishings and decorative lightings.
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