The 88-meter sculpture in Jianhe, Guizhou is controversial; local officials say that the cultural and tourism industry is one of the key economic development
"'Yang Asha' sculpture can't be done because of doubt"
Recently, the "Yang Asha" sculpture in Jianhe County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture in Guizhou Province has once again sparked controversy.
Jianhe County, which just announced poverty alleviation in March of this year, invested 86 million yuan in 2017 to build the world's largest sculpture of the Miao goddess "Yang Asha".
On October 21, the Jianhe County Culture, Sports, Radio, Film and Tourism Bureau issued a notice stating that Yang Asha is the legendary Miao god of beauty, and it entrusts the Miao compatriots in the area with a broad cultural identity and emotional home.
The "Yang Asha" sculpture is invested and constructed by Jianhe County Yang Asha Tourism Investment Company relying on the cultural and tourist resource endowment of Jianhe County.
A government official of Jianhe County told the Beijing News reporter on October 23 that some netizens had questioned the "Yang Asha" sculpture at the beginning of 2018. At that time, the central government sent an investigation team to Jianhe County to understand the situation and the results of the investigation. It shows that the approval process for sculpture construction is legal and compliant, "No problem, very standardized."
At present, the ancillary facilities surrounding the "Yang Asha" sculpture have not been fully completed.
On October 24th, Yang Min, general manager of the construction of Fangjianhe County Yang Asha Tourism Investment Development Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Yang Asha Tourism Investment Company), told the Beijing News reporter that the construction of the sculpture auxiliary facilities will soon start to resume.
A local government official also stated that the cultural tourism industry is one of the key points of Jianhe County's economic development, and "can't just do it because of doubt."
The "Yang Asha" sculpture that caused controversy twice
The "Yang Asha" sculpture is located on a hillside on the north bank of the Qingshui River in Jianhe County. There are no railings and no tickets.
Walking on the scenic trail by the river, you can see this silver goddess from a distance.
Late October is the off-season for tourism in Jianhe County. Every day, tourists still climb the steps to admire the sculptures up close and take pictures.
The Beijing News reporter saw that at present, the four-story exhibition hall below the sculpture has not been fully completed. The stairs leading to the sculpture are only half repaired. The lower part is used by surrounding residents to store goods and raise cattle.
The small square under the sculpture is temporarily arranged as a children's playground.
In the evening, the lights around the sculpture were on, and many residents took their children to play here.
Public information shows that this sculpture of the Miao goddess has a total height of 88 meters, of which the sculpture is 66 meters high and made of stainless steel plates. The base is 22 meters high and contains a 4-story circular exhibition hall.
The height design is taken from the local Miao nationality festivals "February 2" and "June 6".
"'Yang Asha' can be said to be the spiritual sustenance of the Miao people." On October 24, Zhen Yinghua, director of the Jianhe County Culture, Sports, Radio, Film and Tourism Bureau, told the Beijing News reporter that Yang Asha is the legendary Miao god of beauty. It is widely spread in Southeast Guizhou.
In 2008, the Miao narrative song "Yang Asha" declared by Qiandongnan Prefecture was included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage.
Zhen Yinghua said that in order to develop cultural tourism, Jianhe County began to dig out the story and culture of "Yang Asha" decades ago.
A county government official who understands the construction process of the "Yang Asha" sculpture said that around 2016, the county commissioned a Miao culture expert to reorganize the story of Yang Asha.
At that time, some experts suggested that "Yang Asha" could be displayed through sculptures. This suggestion coincided with the county's idea of developing cultural tourism.
In January 2017, Yang Asha Tourism Investment Company released the "Yang Asha" sculpture procurement publicity document on the bidding website, which mentioned that the "Yang Asha" sculpture should be the only large-scale sculpture of Miao people at home and abroad. Has a strong theme, artistry, iconic and monumental nature.
According to the above documents, the procurement budget for the sculpture is 86.9 million yuan, and the supplier is Beijing Jinding Sculpture Art Co., Ltd.
Public information shows that the company is the only designated production base of the Chinese Sculpture Society, and its business scope includes design, manufacturing, processing, sculpture crafts, stainless steel products, etc.
On October 26, the reporter called the company, hoping to learn about the construction process and actual costs, but did not receive a response.
At the end of 2017, the construction of the sculpture was completed. It was verified by the World Records Certification Agency (WRCA) on-site measurement and verification and was confirmed to be the largest "Yang Asha" sculpture in the world.
However, shortly after obtaining the world record certification, some netizens asked whether Jianhe County, a poor county at the time, needed to spend a huge amount of money to build the statue and whether the source of construction funds was in compliance.
This incident caused public opinion for a while.
The above-mentioned officials mentioned that at that time, the central government sent an investigation team to Jianhe County to find out the situation, and the investigation concluded that the sculpture construction process was legal and compliant.
Regarding the Beijing News reporter’s request for reviewing the conclusions of the investigation, the official said that the specific content is not convenient to disclose.
Faced with doubts, on October 21, the Jianhe County Culture, Sports, Radio, Film and Tourism Bureau stated that the development of the Yang Asha Sculpture Tourism Project was undertaken by the Yang Asha Tourism Investment Company in Jianhe County and did not use national poverty alleviation funds and state financial appropriations. , "I didn't use a penny of the country."
Sculpture builder: a wholly state-owned enterprise responsible for its own profits and losses
Jianhe County, located in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture of Guizhou, used to be a national-level impoverished county. In 2014, the incidence of poverty was 33%.
In order to achieve poverty alleviation, Jianhe County has also developed tourism and leisure agriculture while developing the cultivation and breeding of characteristic agricultural products.
Yang Asha Travel Investment Company was born to serve the development of local tourism.
Yang Min mentioned that Yang Asha Tourism Investment Company was originally funded and established by the Jianhe County Government and is a subsidiary of the County Tourism Bureau.
The reporter inquired about industry and commerce information and found that Yang'asha Tourism Investment Company in Jianhe County was established in 2004 with a registered capital of 100,000 yuan and is a wholly state-owned enterprise.
The business scope includes bathing, development of scenic spots and tourist attractions, investment and financing construction of urban infrastructure and tourist facilities, etc.
The official website of the Jianhe County Government mentioned that the function of Yang Asha Tourism Investment Company is to "perform the company's optimized combination through the authorization of the county government, make the company bigger and stronger, and perform its foreign investment financing function as a corporate financing platform for the county government." It is the (financing) platform company." Jianhe County government staff told the Beijing News reporter.
Around 2010, the state began to conduct standardized management of local financing platforms, and the relationship between Yang Asha Tourism Investment Company and the Jianhe County government also changed.
In 2010, the State Council issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Management of Local Government Financing Platform Companies", requiring the liquidation and proper handling of the debts of financing platform companies, and to regulate the company.
Subsequently, various localities have successively introduced regulations to promote the separation of government and financing platform companies from government and enterprises, and the market-oriented transformation of financing platform companies.
The Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture government also mentioned in the work report that the state government promoted the transformation of government financing platforms into general companies in 2012, which will promote the complete decoupling of government departments from enterprises.
Just in that year, on December 31, 2012, industry and commerce information showed that the investor of Yang Asha Tourism Investment Company was changed from Jianhe County Tourism Bureau to the county’s state-owned holding company Jianhe County Urban Construction Investment Co., Ltd. The office address was also moved from the government office building.
The following year, the company's investor was changed to Qiandongnan Prefecture Miaowu Dongge Cultural Tourism Development Co., Ltd., a wholly state-owned enterprise under the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Qiandongnan Prefecture.
In addition, the company's legal person has also changed many times.
The company has undergone 5 legal person changes since its establishment, and the first 5 legal representatives are all employees of the Jianhe County government.
Until 2014, Yang Min became the company's legal representative, and the company's responsible personnel had nothing to do with the local government.
Zhen Yinghua said that for travel investment companies, the county government now only provides direction guidance, and the company manages the specific financing and operations itself.
The development company encountered difficulties in capital turnover
According to industry and commerce information, at the end of 2012, at the same time as the investor and office of Asha Travel Investment Company changed, the registered capital was also adjusted from 100,000 yuan to 100 million yuan.
According to information from Tianyan, as of the date of the change, the paid-in capital was 100 million yuan.
Regarding the source of the registered capital, the aforementioned Jianhe County officials stated that the increase in the registered capital of Yang Asha Tourism Investment Co., Ltd. provided the company's own financing and the county government did not participate.
As for the investment funds for the later project, Yang Min said that the construction of the sculpture is a corporate activity, and the funds come from the company's own funds and loan financing from the bank.
The aforementioned Jianhe County officials also mentioned that the mortgage when the travel investment company borrowed from the bank included the completed buildings in another hot spring town scenic spot developed by the Yang Asha travel investment company, as well as expected tourism revenue.
On October 25, Wen Laicheng, executive director of the Zhongcai-China Securities Pengyuan Institute of Local Finance Investment and Financing of Central University of Finance and Economics, analyzed that this type of mortgage is an equity mortgage and is allowed under the current management system.
Even if the company does not have many assets when it borrows from the bank, there is a contract that can prove that the company can obtain income from an investment project (that can be mortgaged).
In the development of tourism, Yang Asha Tourism Investment Company has encountered difficulties in capital turnover.
A judgment from the People's Court of Jianhe County showed that in January 2016, in order to solve the funding difficulties for the construction of another hot spring scenic spot project under the company's name, Asha Travel Investment Co., Ltd. borrowed 5 million yuan from a construction engineering company in Guizhou.
Later, due to failing to repay the loan as agreed, Yang Asha Travel Investment Company was sentenced by the court to repay the loan principal of 5 million yuan and its interest.
The construction of the attached parking lot surrounding the "Yang Asha" sculpture was also suspended for many years due to funding problems.
On October 24, the on-site person in charge of the parking lot project surnamed Pan told the Beijing News reporter that the construction of the parking lot project started in 2017. Due to funding problems with the Asha Tourism Investment Company, the project could not be paid on time. The project was temporarily suspended in 2018.
However, in the near future, the loan from Asha Travel Investment Co., Ltd. is gradually in place, and the construction work is ready to start again and is scheduled to be completed before the end of the year.
Yang Min said that the company had short-term financial difficulties due to insufficient domestic demand, but with the gradual increase in tourists, the company’s funding situation has improved.
In addition to bank loans, the company is also seeking partners through investment promotion.
On October 24, a reporter from the Beijing News saw at the construction site around the sculpture that a tower crane had been erected at the parking lot, and an area was being leveled.
A construction worker said, "The square will continue to be repaired."
Tourism still to be developed
In March 2020, relying on key industries such as edible fungus, small fragrant chicken, Uncaria, and live pigs, Jianhe County announced an early poverty alleviation.
Zhen Yinghua said that "Tourism Rich County" is also one of the county's development strategies. Next, the county will continue to promote the development of tourism.
On October 25, 2020, it was the weekend. Tourists from local, Guizhou Province, and surrounding provinces and cities came to Jianhe County to visit and soak in hot springs.
"There are old people who are retired from Shanghai and come here twice a year, one for two months." A villager who opened a small shop around the hot spring scenic spot said, "The luggage they can't take is still in my house."
The hot spring scenic spot is another project invested and constructed by Yang Asha Tourism Investment Company in the local area. The north gate of the scenic spot is about 1 km away from the Yang Asha sculpture.
The official website shows that the project has a total investment of about 1.2 billion yuan, including hot springs, hotels, theaters, ethnic cultural museums, commercial streets, food courts and other facilities. It will be open for business in 2017.
However, villagers around the scenic spot said that the number of tourists has increased rapidly in the past two years, but most of them are concentrated in the hot spring scenic spot, and relatively few tourists visit and consume in the surrounding villages.
Regarding the profit method of the local tourism industry, Yang Min explained that the profit mainly depends on the surrounding commercial activities. The company will continue to complete the construction of the "Yang Asha" sculpture ancillary facilities, and plans to build a minority cultural park in the surrounding area, including cultural commodity exhibitions and special cultural performances. .
"Through sculpture to attract foreign tourists, the main consumption tourism is in hot springs and the upper reaches of the river."
On October 21, in response to the Yang Asha statue dispute, the Jianhe County Culture, Sports, Radio, Film and Tourism Bureau stated in a statement that during the "11th" Golden Week in 2020, Jianhe tourism will usher in new growth under the normalization of epidemic prevention and control. , The county has received more than 220,000 tourists, and achieved a comprehensive tourism income of 209 million yuan.
During the interview, a county government official said that the cultural tourism industry is one of the key points of Jianhe County's economic development. The "Yang Asha" sculpture helps to show the Miao culture. "You can't stop doing it because of doubt."
Beijing News reporter Han Qinke