Jump to content

Liangshanpo nomenclature dispute

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The dispute over the nomenclature of Liangshanpo occurred from 2006 to 2009 and was a contentious clash between the Scenic Area Management Committee and the Tourism Corporation of Liangshan County, situated within the province of Shandong, China and the Liangshanpo Tourism Development Co., Ltd. of Dongping County, also in Shandong Province. The former party initiated legal proceedings against the latter, culminating in two rounds of judicial scrutiny. The case concluded when Liangshan County prevailed in its lawsuit.

Background

[edit]

Dongping County and Liangshan County are situated in the southwestern region of Shandong Province, lagging behind in economic development within the province. Both counties serve as the backdrop for the tales of Water Margin, one of the most famous works of Chinese literature, thus making "Water Margin tourism" a focal point of their respective tourism development. The competition between them in promoting Water Margin tourism laid the ground for future friction between the two counties.

Dongping Lake, located in the western part of Dongping County[1][2] is the second-largest lake in Shandong Province, regarded as a vestige of Mount Liang's (Liangshanpo) marshes. Initially, the western shores of Dongping Lake belonged to Liangshan County, while the eastern shores belonged to Dongping County. Dongping Lake was jointly administered by both counties.[3] However, in December 1985, for the sake of administrative convenience, a town and eight townships near Dongping Lake, previously under the jurisdiction of Liangshan County, were transferred to Dongping County. Consequently, Dongping County assumed sole management of Dongping Lake, leaving Liangshan County in the awkward predicament of "having the mountain but lacking the water" in relation to Mount Liang.

In early 2001, Dongping County renamed Tushan Island, situated at the heart of Dongping Lake, to Juyi Island and embarked on its development.[4]

In September 2001, the counties of Yanggu, Yuncheng, Liangshan, and Dongping convened a meeting to discuss collaborative development of Water Margin tourism. However, due to loose cooperation, tangible outcomes were not effectively achieved.[5]

Process

[edit]

Renaming controversy

[edit]

In 2004, the director of Shandong SunRise Environmental Technology Co., Ltd. was invited by the Dongping County Government to conduct an investigation of Dongping Lake. Subsequently, discussions were held with the county government, leading to a decision to develop the tourism resources of Dongping Lake.

On April 28, 2004, Shandong SunRise Environmental Technology Co., Ltd. was officially registered as "Shandong Liangshanpo Tourism Development Co., Ltd." and the relevant trademarks for the "Liangshanpo" tourism project were obtained.[6]

On April 26, 2006, Liangshanpo Tourism Development Co., Ltd. acquired the complete operational, managerial, and development rights for a period of forty years for the "Former Liangshan" area, which revolved around Lashan National Forest Park, including Lashan, Kunshan, Jinshan, Liugongshan, and Woniu Mountain. This marked the beginning of a large-scale development phase for the 76-square-kilometer Water Margin cultural tourism area.[7][8]

In June 2006, Liangshanpo Tourism Development Co., Ltd. renamed Lashan, Liugongshan, and Dongping Lake to "Former Liangshan," "Northern Liangshan," and "Liangshanpo" in their tickets, advertisements, and tourism signage. Subsequently, the Liangshan County Government issued a request titled "Request from the Liangshan County Government to Immediately Cease the Illegitimate Acts of Shandong Liangshanpo Tourism Development Co., Ltd. in Usurping Our County's Naming Rights," demanding the cessation of the naming infringement and proclaiming their intention to employ legal means to protect their rights.

In mid-September 2006, the Tourism Bureaus of Liangshan County and Dongping County made contact, with the hope that the counterpart would instruct Liangshanpo Tourism Development Co., Ltd. to cease using terms such as "Liangshan" and "Liangshanpo" in their promotional materials. However, the Dongping County Tourism Bureau declined this request, claiming that it is not appropriate for the government to interfere with the business operations of enterprises.

On October 9, 2006, the Department of Civil Affairs of Shandong Province issued an "opinion" to the Civil Affairs Bureau of Tai'an City. The opinion stated that "Shandong Dongping County Liangshanpo Tourism Development Co., Ltd., in their advertising and promotion, used non-standard place names such as 'Former Liangshan' and 'Northern Liangshan' without government approval. Therefore, corrective measures must be taken."[9][10][11][12]

Litigation

[edit]

Towards the end of October 2006, the Liangshan County Tourism Corporation and the Liangshan County Scenic Area Management Committee, acting as joint plaintiffs, brought a lawsuit against the Shandong Dongping County Liangshanpo Tourism Development Co., Ltd., and the Rencheng Travel Agency in Jining City. The lawsuit was filed on the grounds of unfair competition and false advertising, seeking a compensation of 1.5 million yuan.[13][14]

In November, Shandong Liangshanpo Tourism Development Company raised an objection to the jurisdiction.[15]

On December 11, the Intermediate People's Court of Jining City issued a ruling, dismissing the jurisdictional objection raised by Shandong Liangshanpo Tourism Development Company.[16][17]

In July 2007, the Intermediate People's Court of Jining City delivered a first-instance judgment, ruling against the defendant, Liangshanpo Tourism Development Co., Ltd. They demanded an immediate cessation of use of the terms "Liangshan" and "Liangshanpo" and ordered the defendant to compensate the plaintiffs with 500,000 yuan.[18]

In August, Liangshanpo Tourism Development Company, dissatisfied with the ruling, filed an appeal.

On December 15, 2008, the Supreme People's Court of Shandong Province issued the final verdict in this case, affirming the original judgment.

On May 19, 2009, the Liangshan Scenic Area Management Committee and the Liangshan County Tourism Corporation received judgment from the Provincial High People's Court. This three-year-long battle over the place names finally came to a conclusive end.[19][20]

Subsequent developments

[edit]

Shortly thereafter, the Liangshanpo Tourism Development Co., Ltd. was deregistered, putting an end to the dispute between Dongping County and Liangshan County.[21] In 2010, the counties and cities along the Water Margin story route, including Dongping County and Liangshan County, jointly applied for World Heritage status for the Water Margin story.[22] On May 26, 2014, the Liangshanpo Plain Reservoir was completed, changing the situation of "mountains without water" in Liangshan. Subsequently,[23][24][25] Liangshan County directly renamed the Liangshanpo Plain Reservoir to Liangshanpo on maps.[26] Currently, both the Liangshan Water Margin Scenic Area in Liangshan County and the Dongping Lake Scenic Area in Dongping County are striving to become 5A-level tourist attractions.[27][28]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "人民网--404页面". www.people.cn. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  2. ^ "泰安市人民政府门户网站". 2018-02-01. Archived from the original on 2018-02-01. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  3. ^ "全文检索". web.archive.“建置区划”编 。泰安市地方史志编纂委员会编，马辉主编，方志出版社2009年9月出版。. 2017-11-07. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07.
  4. ^ "山东东平湖要建"聚义岛" 昔日梁山好汉聚义场景将再现". news.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  5. ^ 水浒游开发突起"地名权"争议. [news.qq.com. [2017-07-13]. （原始内容存档于2018-02-01）.
  6. ^ "梁山泊"不存在抢注问题. news.qq.com. [2017-07-13]. （原始内容存档于2018-02-01）.
  7. ^ ""梁山泊"进行旅游开发 将建成水浒文化旅游景区_新闻中心_新浪网". news.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  8. ^ 水浒游开发引争议 山东两县为争夺地名权. cq.qq.com. [2017-07-13].
  9. ^ "水浒地名之争有定论南梁山等称谓违规-搜狐新闻". news.sohu.com. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  10. ^ "水浒地名之争有定论 "南梁山"等称谓违规-搜狐新闻". news.sohu.com. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  11. ^ "擅把腊山叫"梁山"，违规_新闻中心_新浪网". news.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  12. ^ "水浒游开发地名起争议 擅叫腊山为"梁山"违规_社会广角更多新闻_中国经济网——国家经济门户". 2018-02-01. Archived from the original on 2018-02-01. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  13. ^ "水浒游地名大战对簿公堂 梁山方面索赔150万-搜狐新闻". news.sohu.com. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  14. ^ "东平湖改称"梁山泊"水浒梁山状告梁山泊旅游公司盗名_新闻中心_新浪网". news.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  15. ^ "东平提出"管辖权"异议 水浒之争延期开庭 山东新闻 烟台新闻网 胶东在线 国家批准的重点新闻网站". www.jiaodong.net. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  16. ^ "山东"水浒游地名案"一审判决 梁山胜诉".
  17. ^ ""水浒游地名案"梁山胜诉_滨州大众网". binzhou.dzwww.com. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  18. ^ 水浒地名权官司还要打下去 被告提出上诉_山东新闻_新闻_腾讯网. news.qq.com. [2017-07-13].
  19. ^ "大众网. 梁山县争得"梁山"名 - 山东频道 - 大众网".
  20. ^ ""梁山"地名权争议案"拉锯"三年尘埃落定 梁山县争得"梁山"名_新闻中心_新浪网". news.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  21. ^ "梁山名地名权被争夺三年 尘埃落定归梁山县-搜狐新闻". news.sohu.com. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  22. ^ "山东为水浒故事申遗 两县曾为梁山地名权打官司_新闻中心_新浪网". news.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  23. ^ "梁山泊平原水库开闸蓄水"水泊梁山"有山无水局面将改善_东方圣城网". 2014-08-26. Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  24. ^ "梁山泊平原水库蓄水典礼仪式正式举行_东方圣城网". 2014-07-04. Archived from the original on 2014-07-04. Retrieved 2014-07-04.
  25. ^ "内容正在升级改造，请稍后再试！-新闻频道-和讯网". news.hexun.com. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  26. ^ "梁山县地图-梁山政府网---中共梁山县委、县政府门户网站-Powered by PageAdmin CMS". 2017-08-22. Archived from the original on 2017-08-22. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  27. ^ "山东频道-凤凰网". sd.ifeng.com. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  28. ^ "东平县争创东平湖和白佛山国家5A级景区_中国经济网——国家经济门户". 2018-07-12. Archived from the original on 2018-07-12. Retrieved 2018-07-12.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Liangshanpo_nomenclature_dispute&oldid=1185158855"