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Recently, with the popular airing of the TV series “The Legend of Shen Li”, a wave of “ancient style” has swept through Xiandu Scenic Spot in Jinyun County. Everywhere you look, visitors can be seen taking photos dressed in traditional long gowns and skirts, with their hair styled in an ancient fashion.
Renowned for its stunning natural landscapes, the Xiandu Scenic Spot has attracted over 500 film and television productions for location shooting. The frequent success of these productions has brought the scenic spot into the limelight, sparking a trend where the film industry enhances Xiandu’s cultural and tourism appeal.
Tourism has become an indispensable part of a fulfilling life. On May 17th, the National Tourism Development Conference, the first major conference held by the Party Central Committee with tourism development as its theme, was convened in Beijing, outlining a magnificent vision of “poetry and distant lands”.
Seizing the new opportunities for high-quality development in the cultural and tourism industry, Lishui city has already made thorough preparations.
Since 2020, the Lishui Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government have consecutively highlighted the strategic goal of building a top-tier mountain leisure tourism destination in their Government Work Reports. They have continuously strengthened tourism’s role as a pillar industry for prosperity and city growth through brand building, project development, and fostering new business formats.
Scenic spots are the most crucial battleground for the cultural and tourism industry, serving as significant entry points for “traffic”.
From the rise of the “fairy and chivalrous atmosphere” emanating from Xiandu in Jinyun to the “lush green heart in the clouds” awakening in Yunhe Terrace. On February 6, 2024, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced that Yunhe Terrace Scenic Spot had been upgraded to a national 5A-level tourist attraction, marking the era of “double 5A scenic spots” for Lishui city.
Walking the paths once trodden by protagonists, seeing the same landscapes featured in dramas, and merging on-screen scenes with real-life settings... Wang Xiaoxian, a visitor from Beijing, made a special trip to Xiandu and explored various filming locations, immersing himself in the classical and leisurely aesthetics of the Chinese countryside.
With distinctive IPs “igniting” the cultural tourism market, Xiandu Scenic Spot took advantage of this momentum by launching travel photography and immersive check-in experiences. Statistics reveal that since the airing of “The Legend of Shen Li” on March 18, the number of visitors to the scenic spot has increased by 36.8% year-on-year.
Navigating through forests, ancient villages, paths, and fields, overcoming highly challenging obstacles to showcase courage and determination... Recently, Yunhe Terrace Scenic Spot, the nation’s first terrace-type 5A-level tourist attraction, held a muddy obstacle challenge, adding a touch of excitement and wildness to its gentle greenery.
Yunhe Terrace Scenic Spot achieved remarkable success during this year’s May Day holiday. It received a total of 140,800 visitors, a year-on-year increase of 123.14%, and generated tourism revenue of 70.295 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 289.96%, both figures hitting record highs.
Penal Colony Scenic Spot in Liandu District also gained widespread attention through the CCTV “May 4th” Gala. The program “Joy Amidst Mountains and Waters”, filmed and performed on location, showcased the scenic spot’s unique poetic and artistic charm to a national audience. The show not only elicited a strong response but also attracted an increasing number of tourists to visit and explore.
Lishui, named for its waters and renowned for its picturesque mountains, is a city inherently suited for travel.
Addressing the unique challenges of being “remote, far-flung, and scattered” in mountainous regions, how can the unique mountainous and remote characteristics be leveraged? Lishui has provided an answer: constructing a city-wide “One Center, Four Zones” industrial layout, forming a development model that is distinctive yet interconnected.
The “One Center” refers to the Lishui Urban Comprehensive Tourism Center, focusing on the “One River, One Island, Three River Mouths” to create a cultural tourism belt along the Ou River and a cultural tourism belt around Nanming Lake. The “Four Zones”, including Lianqingjin Quality Leisure Tourism Zone, Longqing Classic Cultural and Creative Tourism Zone, Yunling Folk Customs Tourism Zone, and Suisong Pastoral Idyll Tourism Zone, collaboratively developing a top-tier mountain leisure tourism destination across the city.
Since 2020, the added value of Lishui’s tourism industry as a proportion of GDP has ranked first in the province for six consecutive years. Three new 4A-level tourist attractions have been created, placing Lishui fourth in the province for the number of high-level scenic spots, marking new progress in the development of tourist attractions.
The total number of tourists and revenue for the city’s A-level tourist attractions have grown annually by 34.13% and 27.21%, respectively. Three scenic spots have been included in the provincial list of core scenic spots with tens of millions of visitors.
According to big data monitoring, Lishui received a total of 25.539 million tourists in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 27.06%, including 14.6362 million overnight tourists, a year-on-year increase of 27.97%. Tourism revenue reached 27.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.4%.
The continuous influx of tourists and the ever-increasing data not only reflect the confidence of market players, but also make our city a highly attractive destination for investment in cultural and tourism projects.
From 2021 to 2023, Lishui City completed a cumulative investment of 125.1 billion yuan in cultural and tourism projects, achieving the “14th Five-Year Plan” target two years ahead of schedule. Over the past three years, the average annual increase in cultural and tourism investment across the city has exceeded 20%. In 2023, the completion rate of major cultural and tourism project investments in the city reached 159.05%, ranking fourth in the province.
The enormous development potential of the cultural and tourism market has given rise to several phenomenal “blockbuster” projects.
“The Castle in the Sky of Nayun Village in Jingning County”, a project transformed from an abandoned mine with a total investment of 1.5 billion yuan, has become a popular internet celebrity destination since its trial operation in January 2022. It has attracted attention from hit variety shows like “Keep Running ” and internet celebrities with millions of followers like “Fang Qi Kiki’, who have all spoken up for it.
In 2023, “The Castle in the Sky of Nayun Village” received a total of 108,000 visitors, generating an operating income of 80.76 million yuan, transforming the abandoned mine into a new cultural and tourism landmark.
The Jinyun Thousand Parrots House, the nation’s first comprehensive parrot-themed bird conservation research institution, has created a new biodiversity exchange and experience base centered around parrots, providing an excellent place for study tours.
“Here, you can find bookshelves and seats, and stop to appreciate the beauty of light and shadow on the walls.” “The elegant decorations of each tent and the glass terraces overlooking the rice fields allow visitors to enjoy both nature and luxury.”
Recently, the rock cave library in Xiandu Scenic Spot in Jinyun County and the Guiye Campfire in Yunhe County were prominently recommended by the globally renowned travel guide “Lonely Planet”.
Today, the “Gen Z” youth group has become the trendsetters and leaders in the development of cultural and tourism industries.
Lishui City, catering to the younger generation’s pursuit of novelty and adventure, continuously introduces new products and formats that are youthful, energetic, and fashionable, striving to create a city loved by the youth.
In Longquan West Street, amidst a bustling crowd, tourists enjoy the street scenes, appreciate ancient charm, taste snacks, seek trendy playthings, and explore fashion, immersed in the rich history and cultural atmosphere of the old street.
As the oldest existing street in Longquan City, West Street not only embodies the ancient cultural charm of Longquan’s sword porcelain but has also transformed into a fashion hub. Many young people, with a passion for “Guochao” (Chinese trendy culture), blend leisure formats with intangible cultural heritage elements, giving new vitality to the old street.
Centered around the historical industry of Longquan swords, Longquan has created the immersive performance “The World of Longquan: The Elegance of the Song Dynasty”, and holds over 100 traditional dragon kiln firing events annually under the “Everlasting Kiln Fire” theme, establishing a comprehensive sword display and experience venue.
In the “last secret place of Jiangnan”, Songyang leverages its complete village system and vibrant cultural forms to develop landmark residential products such as Chenjiapu Village Feiniaoji, Lanshu Mountain House, and Guoyun Mountain Residence, which combine wellness, culture, and art. These have garnered immense popularity both online and offline. In 2023, Songyang County’s homestays received a total of 3.8108 million tourists, generating over 1.5 billion yuan in total revenue.
Jingning County has created the “She Ethnic Group IP” to showcase the most dazzling ethnic styles. Using the “China She Nationality March 3 Festival” theme, it amplifies the festive effects by innovatively launching immersive She ethnic performances like “She Ethnic Group’s Bride”, the top ten provincial performance “Impression Shan Ha”, and Daqun She ethnic wedding customs experiences. The recently launched She ethnic-themed “Shan Ha Grand Party” attracted over 30 million views through live streaming and over 100 million topic reads on Weibo.
Additionally, the Lianhu Starry Sky Camping Base in Qingyuan County has merged the camping economy with local specialties, turning small tents into a big industry and becoming a new landmark for camping at the Zhejiang-Fujian border. Qingtian County, aiming to build a “fashionable hometown of overseas Chinese and a city of water sports”, has vigorously developed paddleboarding, sailing, dragon boating, and other water sports, continuously unleashing the potential of the “sports plus tourism” industry. Wangcunkou Town in Suichang County, one of the twelve key revolutionary old areas in the country, deeply excavates its rich “red”, “ancient” and “green” resources, igniting the “red engine” for the development of ancient towns in southwestern Zhejiang.
“Old scenic spots” activating “new scenes”, “old memories” creating “new experiences”—such examples abound in Lishui.
In the first quarter of this year, three projects—the Longquan Celadon Sword immersive experience, homestays in Songyang county, and Shexiang Jingning—successfully occupied the top ten positions on the provincial cultural and tourism “blockbuster” cultivation project evaluation list.
At the same time, based on local cultural resources, Lishui City is dedicated to creating high-quality IPs that showcase traditional culture, allowing visitors to fully understand Lishui’s unique culture through “immersive” experiences.
Originating from Lishui, the “Village Evening” event appeared in the 2024 New Year’s message with a “vibrant” form and became the only provincial entry among the 12 national “Mass Cultural Activities” brand cases in 2023.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to host the main event of the winter season “Village Evening” of the 2023 National “Four Seasons Village Evening” in Lishui, Dagangtou Town in Liandu District pioneered the “Village Play” program “Huaxiang Crossing” in the province. The city has set up 314 “Village Evening Dream Theaters”, cumulatively holding over 1,000 “Village Evenings”, making the festive “Village Evening” the centerpiece of rural activities and satisfying tourists' immersive travel experience needs.
Focusing on the “mountain” theme, Lishui City continues to enhance the “Beautiful Mountains and Waters of Lishui” brand.
The “Lishui Mountain Road”, connecting nine counties (cities, districts) in Lishui, has now become a must-drive route for self-driving enthusiasts in the Yangtze River Delta. The “Lishui Mountain Residence” grade homestays have become a benchmark in the national homestay industry, with 146 newly cultivated “Zheyun Qiansu” homestays, the highest number in the province, making it the best destination for tourists to stay among mountains and waters. In 2023, the city’s homestays received a total of 29.99 million tourists, generating revenue of 3.008 billion yuan.
“Lishui Shangeng” has established over 1,000 one-stop service points throughout the city, becoming the best tourism souvenirs representing green mountains and waters. The classic cultural and creative product “Longquan Celadon Cup” from “Lishui Shanfeng” was selected as a licensed product for the esports events of the Hangzhou Asian Games. Lishui’s scenic landscapes have become important sites for the World Photography Congress and popular film and television productions.
Integrating culture into tourism and highlighting culture through tourism, the mutual enhancement of culture and tourism is evident. With the deep integration of culture and tourism, the vivid picture of high-quality development in Lishui City’s cultural and tourism industry is gradually unfolding.