A tourism project in the Qinghai Lake, China's largest salt lake, has been suspended by the provincial government of Qinghai for environmental concern, provincial officials confirmed Wednesday.

A local tourism business, Xiadu Tourism Co., Ltd., announced in May that it would begin a luxury cruise service in the lake.

Expected to be equivalent in quality to a four-star hotel, the ship, called "Qingzang Mingzhu" or "Qinghai-Tibet Pearl," was designed with facilities for dining, lodging and entertainment.

The ship was designed to be nearly 80 meters long, 18 meters wide and 15 meters high.

But the commercial plan met opposition from scientists with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering immediately after it was announced.

As the lake is a closed inland one with no water outlet, scientists worried that pollutants from the ship might not be able to escape.

If so, they contended, the ship would cause permanent pollution, spoiling the ecological cycle of the lake area.

The provincial government held a special meeting to discuss the project and the scientists' proposal, and concluded that the project needed further review.

Provincial environmental protection authorities said that they would organize experts to reevaluate the project and further study academicians' environmental concern.

(Xinhua News Agency September 16, 2004)