A building in Binzhou, Shandong province, was designed to look like an aircraft carrier and become a modern landmark in the city. But because of bad management, it has turned into a "cement lump". Local governments should work out foolproof plans before executing them and stop wasting precious public funds on building meaningless "landmarks", says an article in China Youth Daily. Excerpts:

The local government built the "aircraft carrier" building in 2003 at a cost of 120 million yuan ($19.6 million) and intended to make it a "creative tourist attraction", with hotels, restaurants and entertainment centers. But with the passage of time, the flow of people into the building ebbed, and since 2009 it has become a "ghost complex".

Although the local government says it will keep inviting investment to maintain its operation, most people believe such a business complex over-estimates local people's consumption power.

Many Chinese cities have wasted huge amounts of public funds on meaningless buildings both at scenic spots and in downtown areas. Many of these buildings were built according to contemporary trends but soon fell out of public favor, and some of them have even been pulled down, which reflects the lack of imagination and insight on the part of local governments.

Old landmarks like the Qingdao Trestle, built a century ago, still draw large number of tourists from home and abroad. Local governments should learn a lesson from such landmarks and plan long-term development instead of aiming at making short-term profits and wasting public funds.

(China Daily 08/13/2013 page9)