CHINA: Tourist Attraction And Water Town Install Speed Bumbs

In an effort to get tourists to slow down and take in the view, a tourist attraction and water town in eastern China has installed almost a hundred “speed bumps” along the walkway of its entrance.

Originally shared on social media accounts, black-and-yellow speed bumps spaced less than a step apart lined the concrete, forcing those walking to slow down and watch their step.

A bit overconcerned? Speed bumps seen in a short range of pedestrian walks at a scenic spot in east China stunned many Chinese netizens.

The ridges are placed in ancient water town located in Zaozhuang, Shandong, known for being one of China’s most beautiful water towns.

When the photos of the speed bumps were posted and spread, state broadcaster CCTV jokingly speculated in a post of its own that the path could be a “washboard road”, due to its resemblance of the ridges on a traditional washboard used for cleaning clothes.

Others on social media joined in, with some pointing out that the possible point for the speed bumps were that they acted as a makeshift staircase as the street began to slope downwards.

“Why didn’t they just directly install stairs?” asked one user regarding this theory.

Others had different ideas. Suggested another, “Who would drive on this road? It’s clearly to prevent people from slipping.”

Someone questioned, “What’s wrong with this? Once it snows, you’ll see the use for this.”

Meanwhile, the National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (ANRI) held a two-day coordination meeting from April 27 to April 28 in Bangka Belitung to discuss the management of national asset archives.

At the meeting, attended by approximately 200 people, the head of ANRI Mustari Irawan talked about maintaining all tourist and culture-related archives.

“To include achievements made by Indonesian Tourism, for example the recognition of traditional dances, we must keep all the files in case other countries might attempt to claim our assets,” said Mustari.

The meeting was fully supported by the Tourism Ministry as it was a form of “MICE Tourism”. MICE stands for “meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions”.

“We support this event since it is a MICE activity that helps improve the economy of Bangka Belitung,” said Esthy Reko Astuti, the ministry's archipelago tourism marketing development deputy.

The Tourism Ministry kicked off the MICE – INAMICE 2017 National Convention at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Jakarta on Wednesday to discuss MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) tourism in Indonesia.

Aiming to devise strategies to increase the competitiveness of local businesses by strengthening the MICE industry and human resources, the event was attended by representatives from all polytechnics and universities of Indonesia that offer MICE programs.

Some of the highlights from the event were the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Tourism Ministry, Joglosemar (Yogyakarta – Solo – Semarang) mayors and Jakarta State Polytechnic.

The MoU lists several planned measures, such as the drafting of regulations to develop MICE destinations in the Joglosemar area, the provision of data at national and international MICE events, the facilitation with ownership certificates for MICE businesses, the promulgation of Tourism Ministry Regulation No. 2 of 2017 and the improvement of human resources in the MICE industry.

There was also the INAMICE Award 2017, initiated by industry players and academics to award destinations that ticked all the boxes in the judging criteria.