Travelers’ misunderstandings about throwing coins and notes onto historical relics for blessings has nearly ruined the 1,000-year-old Leifeng Pagoda in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, according to a local newspaper.

The administrative unit of the Leifeng Pagoda scenic spot has been under pressure to protect the historical and cultural site. Piles of coins and notes virtually buried the relic, Qianjiang Evening News reported.

The reporter wrote that during a half-hour visit, “nearly half of all travelers threw money for wishes－mainly middle-aged women, children and young couples”.

The Leifeng Pagoda, located in the West Lake scenic area, was originally built in AD 977. It has fallen and been rebuilt several times. Most recently, it collapsed in 1924 but wasn’t rebuilt until 78 years later, in 2002.

The repair project unearthed an underground shrine, and the pagoda was built above it. Relics are now fenced within glass walls.

But the 2-meter-high walls didn’t prevent the relics from becoming the objects of visitors’ enthusiasm for blessings. People continued throwing money, and coins and paper notes blanketed the relics.

“We clean the site twice a month, and more frequently in peak season, so that visitors can enjoy viewing the relics instead of a money hill,” said an administrative staff member, who noted that it all adds to the workload at the site.

According to the administration, more than 20,000 yuan (US$3,000) is collected every year at the site. The money is used for maintenance of the relics, the newspaper reported.

Zhong Xiangping, vice-president of the Hangzhou Historical and Cultural Association, was quoted as saying some Chinese folklore holds that people throwing coins in specific spots can receive blessings and peace. Believers fear missing any chance at a blessing, so they toss coins or notes just about anywhere after finding that some previous visitors had done the same thing.

Last month, an 80-year-old woman boarding an aircraft at Shanghai Pudong International Airport even threw some coins into the engine as a blessing for a safe flight. The flight was delayed for five hours while the engine was checked.

In Zhong’s view, unlike the Trevi Fountain in Italy, Leifeng Pagoda is just a historic relic. “It has no function for blessings,” Zhong said.

Throwing money also hinders relic protection efforts.

A staff member at the pagoda told the newspaper that notices posted on the glass wall tell people not to throw money.

“Patrolling staff members have also tried to dissuade people from doing that. People just ignored them. We hope the public will give us ideas to cut down on the problem.”

China will continue to intensify international exchanges and cooperation in drug supervision to promote the domestic application of new medicines developed overseas to meet demand, China’s top drug regulator said on Thursday.

The drug authorities will also encourage the domestic pharmaceutical industry to improve its capacity and competitiveness to promote the international visibility of Chinese medical and pharmaceutical products, Wu Zhen, vice-minister of the China Food and Drug Administration, said at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Meeting on Drug Regulatory Collaboration in Zhengzhou, Henan Province.

On June 19, the administration announced it joined the International Council on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use, which focuses on guidelines for worldwide pharmaceutical development.

“Joining the council means the Chinese drug regulatory authorities, pharmaceutical industry and research and development institutes will gradually adopt internationally accepted standards and guidelines, actively participate in the formulation of international rules and promote quicker domestic application of new drugs developed in other countries,” Wu said.

China is the second-largest market for pharmaceutical products in the world. Annual revenues of the pharmaceutical industry in China exceed 2.5 trillion yuan ($368.6 billion), and annual exports of pharmaceutical products exceed 13.5 billion yuan, Wu said.

“China has great pharmaceutical production capacity, so it can provide support to the health of the people in BRICS nations and other countries,” he said.

BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The administration has adopted a series of reform measures on the review and approval of new drugs to accelerate approvals and meet the needs of domestic patients in recent years, Wu said.

The authorities will encourage medical institutions to give priority to new drugs that have proved effective and are reasonably priced, and support the inclusion of such new drugs in the list of drugs whose cost can be reimbursed by basic medical insurance programs, according to a draft regulation released by the administration in May.

Certain types of drugs and medical equipment already in use in other countries, such as those for curing rare diseases, can also gain priority approval for sale in the domestic market, the draft said.

As of the end of June, the administration had established routine work relations with drug regulatory authorities in 66 countries, and signed 42 agreements for bilateral cooperation with 28 countries and regions, said Yuan Lin, chief of the administration’s international cooperation department.