Machu Picchu impresiona a Chinos

Home to ancient ruins, lush forests and burbling volcanoes
By Erik Nilsson (China Daily)Updated: 2008-09-12 16:37
2008-09-12 16:37:25.0
Erik Nilsson

Home to ancient ruins, lush forests and burbling volcanoesPeru,Machu Picchu

Peru holds a special place in the hearts of many geographers because of the diversity of its land and people.
The country's elevation rises from its 2,414-km-long coastline, flanked by lowland Amazon basin rainforests in the east, to the towering Andes Mountains, where several volcanoes still burble, in the central regions. From the highest mountaintop of Nevado Huascaran, 6,768 m above sea level, the topography again dips and stabilizes along the western coastal plains.
Owing to the diversity of its geological features, the 1.28-million-sq-km country, half of which is draped in tropical rainforests, contains three quarters of known types of ecological zones.
Peru's varied landscapes are constellated with a number of natural wonders and ruins from ancient civilizations.
Some of the most spectacular natural sites that have helped propel the country's burgeoning tourism industry include the Cordillera Blanca, the world's highest tropical mountain chain; Arequipa's snowcapped peaks, bubbling volcanoes and Colca Valley; and Lake Titicaca in Puno.
But perhaps even more than for its natural wonders, the country is celebrated for its cultural sites. Some of the top locations for visitors are the Incan ruins at Machu Picchu; Chan Chan, the world's largest mud brick citadel; and Cuzco, where republican and colonial buildings rise from the foundations of Incan ruins.
Little is known of Peru's ancient civilizations, as they did not have a written language, endowing them with an air of mystery.
The 29.18 million people who dwell in the country's mountains and valleys are nearly as diverse as the geographical areas they inhabit. About 45 percent are Amerindian, while 37 percent are mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) and 15 percent are black. Chinese Peruvians, or tusuan, are the next largest group.
While Spanish and Quechua are Peru's official languages, a large percentage of its mostly indigenous population speaks Aymara and a multitude of indigenous Amazonian tongues.
With all of its cultural and scenic offerings, the country is seeking to rapidly expand its tourism sector, which contributes 7 percent to its $219 billion GDP (adjusted for purchasing power parity). Currently, it is the country's fastest growing industry.
The government has hailed tourism as proffering great potential for hoisting the 44 percent of the population living below the poverty line toward a higher standard of living.
Per capita GDP, adjusted for PPP, stood at $7,800 last year, and this figure is expected to climb as the country enjoys a 9 percent annual GDP growth rate.
Such relatively increasing prosperity and development is an upswing from decades of military rule before democratization in 1980. These years were followed by periods of economic turbulence and violent insurgencies, which lost momentum in the 1990s.
But things have been looking up for the country since the turn of the millennium. And since 2006, President Alan Garcia's administration has been putting greater focus on improving living conditions and maintaining fiscal prudence.
(China Daily 09/12/2008 page19)



Link: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2008-09/12/content_7023754.htm