SUZHOU, the back garden of Shanghai, plans to raise the ticket price of its eight famous gardens which have been added to the World Heritage List, in an aim to better protect the parks.

But the extent of the price change has exceeded the expectations of both residents and experts.

According to Pan Pugao, an official from the Price Bureau of Suzhou, a new ticket pricing system is being discussed. The average ticket price for the eight gardens is expected to double before next June.

The average rate of increase over the following three years is planned at over 30 per cent, according to the Price Bureau of Suzhou.

Take Zhuozheng Garden, the first choice for tourists in Suzhou, where the price will skyrocket from 30 yuan (US$3.62) to 60 yuan (US$7.24), according to the new system in June. The price will hit 80 yuan (US$9.66) in 2005 and 100 yuan (US$12.08)in 2006.

Part of life

Jiang Jianguo, a middle-aged taxi driver in Suzhou, expressed his complaint about the price raise.

"The change in the prices is so steep. I could scarcely afford to buy the tickets if I wanted to enjoy a weekend visit to the parks with my family."

Jiang said his average salary is about 2,000 yuan (US$242) a month, but he would have to spent half of salary on the tickets if he wanted to visit parks at the weekend with his family as he does now.

"It will change my lifestyle," said Pan Jiaoyun, a 60-year-old retired resident who likes taking a walk in the Yipu Garden near his home every morning and evening.

He worried the rising prices would prevent his daily walk in the park.

The present price of admission to Yipu Garden is only 3 yuan and a monthly card only costs him 45 yuan (US$5.4), allowing him to go there any time he wants. According to the administration office of Yipu Park, the future price is expected to reach over 20 yuan (US$2.4).

Although the old people aged 60 to 70 are provided with a 50 per cent discount, they will still have to pay much more to have a walk in the gardens which have become part of their life

A greenland with 1,000 square metres has been built in Suzhou in compensation, and a lot of museums have been opened to the public for free.

"But it cannot take the place of the gardens," said Pan. "We are so familiar with them and it is hard to imagine we will not be able to visit them in the near future because of the high ticket prices."

The high prices are also a blow to the tourism agencies, following the SARS crisis, which scared away many tourists. Agencies providing services to foreign visitors will be especially badly affected. Most have reached agreements with their customers on the basis of the present prices.

"We can not change the offers we have made to our foreign customers and it is hard to change these agreements. We will have to bear heavy losses because of the higher prices," said an official from a Fujian-based tourism agency whose customers are mainly from Southeast Asian countries.

The China International Travel Service, the China Youth International Service and the Suzhou International Culture Travel Service, the top three agencies providing tourism services in Suzhou, expressed their concern about the price rises and some of the small agencies will be forced to close because of the losses they make on their ticket prices.

Privilege for the rich?

According to Pan from the Price Bureau of Suzhou, the adjustment of the price is designed to better protect the famous gardens.

"The high prices serve as a mechanism to limit the number of visitors which has begun to exceed the capacity of some gardens," Pan said.

The Zhuozheng Garden receives over 1.62 million visitors every year, yet its capacity only stretches to about 1 million, and during national public holidays such as the May 1 holidays and the National Day holidays, the number of tourists are three times higher than usual.

An official from the Liuyuan Garden, the famous park located near the Suzhou Railway Station, said low ticket prices were attracting too many visitors. The increasing number of visitors was posing a great challenge to the preservation of the famous garden. The garden often had to replace the bricks of its floors, as well as wooden window frames and doors which have been broken or damaged by visitors.

"But some things can not be replaced or repaired, such as the stone bridge and carved woodwork. Once they are damaged, they will disappear forever," said the official.

Ge Jianxiong, an expert at the History and Geography Centre of Fudan University is in a favour of the price rise.

"Suzhou gardens are not so much places for tourists as historical relics and a part of cultural heritage. Much importance should be attached to the protection and the preservation of the gardens with great value, such as the Zhuozheng Garden and the Liuyuan Garden. The number of the tourists should be limited by high prices. The ones who want to visit the gardens should register on a waiting list first."

But Feng Wei, an expert at the History College of Fudan University, did not think it was reasonable to deprive people of the right to visit such cultural heritage sites.

"Those cultural heritages belong to all the people. But the high prices will shut out people with low incomes from the gardens. They are not private properties or luxurious tourism destinations. They are cultural and historical heritage sites that should be used to educate people, giving everyone the right to see them close up."

He also doubted whether the high prices would limit the number of tourists. Most tourists come all the way to Suzhou for its famous gardens, arriving from both home and abroad. They would not miss the opportunity to view them, whatever the price charged.

Qu Xiongwei, general manger of Suzhou International Cultural Travel Service agreed with Feng's analysis. He said over 88 per cent of tourists to Suzhou Gardens are organized by travel agencies.

"High prices would only reduce the number of local tourists in Suzhou. But for these organized by travel agencies, the high prices are not a real concern because the fees are included in the total cost they have already paid for the tour," Qu said.

Financial crisis

Another factor lying behind the price rises is a financial crisis facing the Suzhou gardens.

All the gardens in Suzhou make big losses every year, excepting only the Zhuozheng Garden and the Liuyuan Garden.

Pan said compared to other touring destinations in China added to the World Heritage List, Suzhou gardens charge much less money but shoulder more responsibilities.

The total ticket fee for the nine gardens in Suzhou comes to 98 yuan (US$12) on the basis of present prices, a total equalling the ticket price for the Chende Mountain Resort, a famous historical heritage site in North China.

Almost all the gardens face a shortage of funds because of their low ticket price. The ticket income is far from enough for them to maintain and preserve the gardens.

What's more, the gardens are asked by the government to hand over 10 per cent of their ticket income, to be used to build more green spaces in the city.

Feng said: "it is easy to understand why the gardens have to raise their tickets prices but hard to fathom why they have lifted the price so much in such a short time."

Another explanation on the price rise is that the 27th World Heritage Conference will be held in June in Suzhou, when Suzhou gardens will attract enough focus from both home and abroad. It is a good opportunity to lift the price as the conference approaches.

But Feng said the cultural heritage could not be used as the money making machine for the local government.

Experts also warned that a professional management system, instead of a sharp price rise, is a better way to protect the gardens.

A fluctuating price system has been said under discussion to take place of the new one. The price would vary according to the number of the tourists in the garden. And it will stay low but be raised during the holiday peak.