China’s 1st golf course faces uncertain destiny  

中国首家高尔夫场即将经营到期 规划部门静默以对

据中国之声《新闻纵横》报道，这个夏天，一片位于深圳市中心区域的绿地牵动了地方政府、当事企业和市民各方的神经。因为，到明年2月，地处深圳市香蜜湖片区、坐拥1.4平方公里土地、占尽“天时地利人和”之便的深圳高尔夫俱乐部，经营即将到期。“大限将至”的深圳高尔夫俱乐部，将何去何从，竟然引发了深圳市民的极大争议。[查看全文]

(ECNS) -- The operation license of China's first golf club in Shenzhen will expire next February, but local authorities have yet to reveal any definite plans, China Radio International reported on Monday.

The operator of the Shenzhen Golf Club is still in the dark about whether they will be permitted to stay in business after the license expires, or what the land might be used for.

The club was established in 1985, and the golf course has gradually become surrounded by skyscrapers with the city's expansion, said Zheng Xueding, a senior accountant and deputy to the city's people's congress.

Dubbed the city's "last oasis," the club covers 1.36 million square meters of green area in the city center, but is not open to average citizens.

Membership at the club is said to be very expensive, and some employees there say they don't even have access to its privileges.

Meanwhile, local citizens have long opposed the club, since they have to take buses to get to the nearest public leisure areas.

Last year, Zheng suggested to the city government that the land could be converted into a park. "The Shenzhen Planning and Land Resources Committee agreed to my proposal, and said a portion of the land will be saved for commercial use," he said.

The committee said it is "still under discussion."

Han Liebao, who works at Beijing Forestry University, said the large parcel of land should be preserved, regardless of what happens to the golf club.

The number of golf clubs has grown in China, despite a government ban on new courses imposed in 2004.

Chinese authorities have torn down five illegal golf courses, part of government efforts to get tough on unauthorized construction and protect farmland, according to a CCTV report last month.