On the morning of March 21st, the first press conference of the "Beautiful Anhui" series—"Beautiful Anhui: A Glimpse of Huangshan"—was held amidst a sea of rapeseed flowers at the foot of Qiyun Mountain in Xiuning County, Huangshan City. Set against the backdrop of the natural landscape, the event showcased the natural beauty, cultural richness, and tourism delights of Anhui Province.

The press conference combined on-site presentations with immersive experiences, featuring activities such as Hanfu and fish lantern parades through the flowers, "victory drum" performances, Huatian kite flying, and interactions with the "Zhuangyuan" IP. A cultural and creative market displayed a variety of Hui-style goods, while a traditional Chinese medicine market offered on-site consultations with renowned doctors.

Huangshan is not only the "gold-lettered signboard" of Anhui's cultural tourism, but also an important window of "Beautiful Anhui". It is the birthplace of modern tourism in China, a key tourist city in the national 14th Five-Year Plan and the core area of the Southern Anhui International Cultural Tourism Demonstration Zone.

In recent years, Huangshan City has embraced the concept and model of all-for-one tourism, focusing on cultural tourism while extending, transcending, and surpassing it. This approach has further promoted the integrated development of culture and tourism, accelerating the construction of a pioneering and exemplary zone for all-for-one tourism development. By transforming cultural tourism into a pillar industry, Huangshan has taken a leading role in building a region with comprehensive green transformation in economic and social development, exploring a unique path for the deep integration of culture and tourism with distinctive Huangshan characteristics.

Prioritizing Protection and Promoting Heritage

Huangshan boasts a profound historical and cultural heritage. By leveraging the construction of the national Huizhou Cultural Ecological Conservation Zone, the city has strengthened the protection, inheritance, and revitalization of traditional villages, historic buildings, and cultural relics. Initiatives such as enhancing Huizhou studies, archiving Huizhou documents, and preserving Huizhou cultural heritage have been implemented. Huangshan has successfully been selected as a national demonstration unit for the protection and utilization of cultural relics and has achieved full coverage of UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage, World Natural Heritage, Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Memory of the World Programme projects. Emphasizing cultural prosperity, the city has stimulated the innovative and creative vitality of its excellent traditional culture. The added value of the cultural industry accounts for the highest proportion of GDP in the province for three consecutive years, and Huangshan has remained in the top tier of provincial assessments for five years in a row.

Deep Integration and Strengthening Industries

Huangshan City has firmly established an industrial mindset. By deeply cultivating the concept of "tourism + all industries" and "all industries + tourism," the city has fostered the development of six high-end service industries. It promotes cross-border integration of agriculture, culture, tourism, sports, health, and commerce, creating new products such as travel experiences centered around sports events and music festivals. Innovative formats like digital nomadism and "Stay in Huangshan" wellness tourism have also been introduced. Eight of the world's top ten high-end hotel brands have successfully established a presence in Huangshan. The city has ranked among the top 20 health and wellness destinations in China for three consecutive years and has been recognized as a "Benchmark City for China's Study Tour Destinations" and the "2024 City of Vitality."

Building Brands and Enhancing Quality

Huangshan is a city of scenic beauty everywhere. Guided by the concept of all-for-one tourism, the city has further optimized its layout and improved quality, promoting complementary and differentiated development among its scenic spots. It has advanced the construction of homestay clusters and rural tourism zones, creating a new pattern of all-for-one tourism development characterized by interconnected sectors, regional collaboration, and diverse formats. Yixian County and Tunxi District have been designated as national all-for-one tourism demonstration zones, with Yixian County recognized as the first international rural tourism resort in China. Huangshan Scenic Area has become the first domestic tourist destination to offer "AI-guided tours throughout the journey." The per capita disposable income and savings of rural residents in the city consistently rank among the highest in the province. Tourism has increasingly become a vital industry for people's livelihoods and happiness.

Expanding Markets and Boosting Consumption

Huangshan City has implemented a global promotion plan for its city brand, hosting a series of events such as the Huangshan Tourism Festival and the China Intangible Cultural Heritage Traditional Skills Exhibition. Huangshan's cultural tourism has been showcased at international travel expos. Tunxi International Airport has been selected as a 240-hour visa-free transit port of entry for foreigners, and Huangshan City has been included in the Hong Kong Education Bureau's student exchange program routes. The city has also launched a series of activities under the "Exemptions, Discounts, and Benefits to Boost Consumption" initiative, distributing 280 million yuan in cultural tourism consumption vouchers, which drove 2.61 billion yuan in consumer spending. Additionally, 11 new "Beautiful Anhui" consumption scenes were added, ranking first in the province. Particularly during this Spring Festival, the Huizhou fish lanterns garnered over 3 billion views online, becoming a viral sensation and attracting more than 3.3 million visitors to celebrate the Chinese New Year in Huizhou.

It is reported that in 2025, Huangshan City will significantly upgrade its "Misty Huangshan: Cultural Tourism for the People" consumption promotion policy, further optimizing and enhancing various measures to stimulate consumption. At the same time, the city will launch the "Blossom Encounters, Savoring the Landscape" 2025 Spring (Rural Tourism) Promotion Campaign, specially introducing five categories of spring cultural tourism products: "Walking the Flower Path," "Spring Outings," "Tea Tales," "Camping Retreats," and "Boating Escapes." The campaign will feature nearly 100 cultural tourism activities, including flower viewing, photography, intangible cultural heritage experiences, parent-child study tours, and sports and leisure events. With the most open attitude and warmest hospitality, Huangshan City sincerely invites visitors from all over the world to join in the festivities.

Source: anhuinews.com

Reporter: Pan Zhenxiang