INVESTORS in China are building a 21-km concrete dragon to breathe fire into the tourism industry, but some experts have already branded it a cultural gaffe, a newspaper said yesterday.

The dragon, which will wind along the ridge of Shizu Mountain in Henan Province, will be finished in time to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 2009, the Shanghai Daily reported yesterday.

“The 21-km length represents the wish that China will experience rapid development in the 21st Century,” the Shanghai Daily quoted the project director, Li Xiong, as saying.

The dragon’s head will be 30 meters high and its body 9 meters high and 6 meters wide. Some 5.6 million pieces of white marble and gilded bronze will form scales that “symbolize the country’s 56 ethnic groups,” the paper said.

Its hollowed-out body will have display rooms with a variety of themes, including “filial piety, loyalty and patriotism.” A light rail system to transport tourists to the dragon and a “luxury club” are also part of the plan, the paper said.

About 30 million yuan (US$3.88 million) has so far been spent on the 300-million-yuan project, but the figure could balloon to 4 billion yuan if all suggested designs are used, it said.

The project has come under fire from some experts who said it was inappropriate, the paper said.

“Shizu Mountain is a symbol of Huangdi, or the Yellow Emperor, who is considered the earliest ancestor of Chinese,” the paper quoted Dai Songcheng, director of the Henan Institute of Culture, as saying.

“Such an immense structure on the mountaintop is disrespectful to Huangdi.”

(SD-Agencies)