Expo showcases region's Red tourism development

The 2022 China Red Tourism Expo, held in late November in Shaoshan, Hunan province, showcased the region's development achievements driven by Red tourism. The first Xiangtan Tourism Development Conference also opened there at the same time.

A new Red tourism-themed museum served as the venue for the expo. Designed in a flower shape and with bright colors, it won the attention of participants and tourists.

Located in Xiangtan city, Hunan province, Shaoshan is known as a key revolutionary base last century in Chinese history. With a profound culture and diverse Red tourism resources, the region has embarked on a new development path.

Red tourism has become a pillar force in driving the local economy. The past few years saw a growing number of tourists from home and abroad. They flocked to the historical sites to learn about the culture and revolutionary stories in the last century.

Since December 2020, the return capsule of the Shenzhou X manned spaceship, which had traveled for nine days in space, has been collected in Shaoshan. One year later, a precious sample of moon lunar soil was received by the moon sample backup storage base there.

Shaoshan village, once a poverty-stricken area, has turned into a prosperous place with a collective economy of 11 million yuan ($1.5 million).

A local official introduced Hunan's general plan for developing tourism at a news conference in August, saying that the province is ramping up efforts to build up five typical attractions as Hunan's calling cards. Xiangtan, represented by Shaoshan Red tourism, is included in the layout.

In response, Xiangtan has rolled out a series of initiatives to become a Red tourism destination with global influence, in pursuit of the integrated development of culture and tourism.

The Wanlou Pavilion, originally built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), is a cultural landmark of Xiangtan. The Xiangtan government is trying to incorporate it into another representative project by the Youth Harbor commercial block.

The main building of the Wanlou Pavilion was designed to be a stage for immersive light shows. With the help of modern media technology, the pavilion has held a number of light shows and aerial drone performances, providing the tourists with one refreshing audiovisual spectacle after another.

This year, a number of high-quality cultural tourism projects have been introduced to Xiangtan, including two projects each involving an investment of 1 billion yuan as well as 11 other 100-million-yuan projects.

The Xiangtan city government has signed a strategic partnership agreement with LY.com, one of the top 20 tourism companies in China and a leading cultural tourism business.

Using their advantages in resources, policies, branding, operations and technologies, the two parties pledged to enhance cooperation in products, marketing and industry, and spur growth of local tourism.

A special section of the travel platform focusing on Xiangtan went online on Nov 1. Also, Hunan Airlines' first themed scheduled flight destined for the hometown of a late Chinese leader took off on Nov 5.

In addition, five agreements were signed during the expo. They cover the operation of A-level scenic sites, the establishment of a tourism industrial fund, urban travel, a branded hotel and the founding a subsidiary of LY.com in Xiangtan.

The city government has launched a package of stimulus projects to benefit the development of enterprises, to help them overcome difficulties in business and operation.