China’s Chongming Island: Development wants, development gets?
A recent article in the Economist highlights concerns over the development of Chongming Island, a bucolic, green oasis within China’s Shanghai municipality. Chongming is the largest alluvial island in the world and features large wetlands, which are popular with migratory birds – and now tourists, thanks to a new bridge and tunnel linking the island with the mainland. ‘In the bridge’s first two weeks, Chongming received more than 600,000 visitors—more than half its annual total. Local media reported that eighty thousand people visited one of its wetland reserves in a single day. They scared away the birds and dumped loads…
