‘Love stairs’ to get billion-yuan tourism development (2)

"The 2.6-billion yuan investment covers not only the love stairs, but also the surrounding areas. We plan to build a scenic site and enhance our ability to accommodate tourists in the entire Jiangjin district," said the head of the tourism development department at the local tourism bureau, surnamed Li.

But according to a survey by microblog service provider Sina, 22,312 of the 23,355 Web users who responded to the survey voted against the project, saying that it was a crass commercial development that takes advantage of an ultimately sad love story.

"The project might attract more tourists but developers should beware that over-development might destroy the originality of the stairs," said Zhang Shangzheng, professor with the tourism department at Anhui University.