If you are in China, you will often see all kinds of scenic spots or parking lots, with many unreasonable and bizarre phenomena. For example: the Lugou Bridge has also started installing ticket gates. Many scenic areas no longer allow visitors to bring their own cameras to take photos. Scenic spots place parking lots very far away, and visitors have to take unified paid shuttles. There are also many wild mountain hikes where walking is no longer permitted, and even the roads have been locked. The Yellow River Hukou Waterfall’s distant roads are blocked by walls, preventing free viewing. What is the underlying logic behind all this?

There are 17k A-level scenic spots in China, of which about 10k are market-operated, and around 5,000 are operated under franchise agreements. ( This means the state-owned assets’ management rights are sold through buyout cycles, contracting out to social capital, who then operate independently. ) The same applies to parking lots: public land owned by the government is converted into parking lots and contracted out to social capital, generating annual revenue of hundreds of billions. It’s not just scenic spots and parking lots; roads, mineral areas, and more are involved.
Because these assets are difficult to monetize when in the hands of government or state-owned enterprises, and because the government also lacks funds, selling them outright to quickly recoup capital is a faster solution.
So, as an ordinary person, you might complain: these scenic spots belong to the country, to the people, so why do they charge? Why can’t I take photos? Why can’t I see things freely? Why... and so on.
But think carefully—it's because you are not part of the “interest distribution chain,” and you are only a part of the “interest” itself.