Jade Dragon Mountain [Photo/Xinhua]

A public hearing about Jade Dragon Mountain's ticket pricing was held in Lijiang on Aug 22. Altogether 19 representatives from the Yunnan Development and Reform Commission and different industries attended the hearing. If the results are approved, entrance tickets to Jade Dragon Mountain will increase from 105 yuan ($17.09) to 130 yuan.

Every year, Jade Dragon Mountain costs a large amount of money for maintenance, such as its infrastructure construction and environment protection. "It's impossible to afford the maintenance fees with the current ticket revenue," said a staff member of the scenic administrative committee.

"Jade Dragon Mountain is now under a lot of pressure of environmental protection especially that the snow line has been kept increasing which may influence the water supply of Lijiang and the surrounding areas, "said He Yuanqing, an environment specialist. "The environment protection of the mountain is costly and the increasing ticket revenue will help to some extent," he added.

Jade Dragon Mountain, a national 5A level scenic spot, has cheaper entrance tickets than the other 5A scenic spots. Statistics show that the average entrance price of a national 5A scenic spots is 135 yuan.

By Ge Jieru and edited by Brian Salter