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FOREIGNERS cannot camp in Dongping National Forest Park on Chongming Island, the authorities have admitted.

Chongming County said it operates a “Chinese only” policy for campers in the 3.55-square-kilometer park because the park does not have the technology to register foreigners staying there with police, a requirement under Chinese law.

This comes after a British man wrote a post on the Shanghai Expat website forum this week complaining that he had been prevented from pitching his tent in the park because he was foreign.

“I live in Shanghai, I have a residence permit, but I’m not allowed to enjoy the same recreational activities as the locals because I’m a foreigner,” wrote the Briton, using the id “MrHello123”.

“I’m sure a Chinese person in the UK or America would be pretty upset if they went to a campsite and were told ‘sorry, you can’t camp here because you are Chinese,’” he added.

The visitor said no one at the park told him about this restriction. He even posted a photograph of park signs in English giving directions to the campsite.

Yang Lei, Chongming County head of news, confirmed the ban on foreigners, but said this will be remedied.

“The park has been working with the police to install the system to meet with the increasing interest from foreign tourists,” Yang told Shanghai Daily.

“However, we can’t say for sure when the system will be in place,” he added.

Until it is up and running, Yang advised foreign visitors to stay at island hotels that have registration systems.

Chongming police said the park told them the Briton was turned away because it “couldn’t ensure his safety,” without providing further explanation.

The Briton, who asked not to be named, told Shanghai Daily that there was no information about the ban on the park website, and staff let him buy a ticket without explaining this either.

“I didn’t ask the ticket office if I could camp when I bought the ticket but they didn’t tell me I couldn’t either, and then park staff along the way to the camping base all gave me directions,” he said.

“I was only told at the office at the base that foreigners are not allowed.”

However, park staff said that the ban is difficult to enforce.

“If we spot them, we’ll turn them away, but let’s be honest, there can be foreigners who camp here unnoticed,” a staff member at the park’s barbecue camping base told Shanghai Daily.

Liu Deyan, associate professor at the Shanghai Institute of Tourism at Shanghai Normal University called for regulations to be eased.

“Tourist spots in Shanghai need to relax unnecessary rules to attract tourists and plan camping, as it’s very popular among foreign tourists,” Liu said.

Under Chinese law, foreign nationals must register their temporary residence — be it a hotel, a friend’s home, a recreational vehicle or tent — with the local public security bureau, the Shanghai Exit-Entry Administration Bureau said.

Failure to do so can mean a fine of up to 2,000 yuan (US$320) for the individual and 5,000 yuan for the institution.

Dongping National Forest Park is the largest of its kind in Shanghai.

The number of foreign visitors to Shanghai in 2013 was 7.5 million, down from 8.5 million in 2010 when the Shanghai Expo was held, according to the Shanghai Statistics Bureau.