The government should not be content with just attracting tens of thousands of tourists. The key is to uncover things that I have uniquely, things that others don’t have or I have in a special way.
During the Labor Day holiday, the popularity of county-level tourism continued to surge. According to data from Ctrip, hotel bookings in county markets increased by 68% year-on-year during the Labor Day period, and scenic spot ticket orders surged by 151% compared to the same period. Hebei Zhengding, Gansu Dunhuang, Fujian Pingtan, Zhejiang Anji, Guangxi Yangshuo, and other areas became popular destinations among tourists. Notably, whether it’s Zhengding, Dunhuang, or Pingtan, they have maintained high popularity on social media.
For Gao Zhen, a traveler from Shanghai who has visited Zhengding, the county has always been a treasure trove with many ancient and exquisite buildings. A few years ago, when he first visited Zhengding, it had few visitors; yet this year during Labor Day, the place was teeming with tourists. The popularity of Zhengding this time is partly due to its bustling night markets, with various food stalls attracting many visitors. During the Labor Day holiday, the number of tourists rose sharply. Gao Zhen visited Longxing Temple in Zhengding again during the holiday and found it crowded with people. Other places like Guanghui Temple, Kaiyuan Temple, and Rongguo House, which was a shooting location for “Dream of the Red Chamber,” were all full of tourists. As a photography enthusiast of ancient architecture, Gao Zhen highly praised Longxing Temple; this temple originating in the Sui Dynasty and retaining many buildings from the Song Dynasty is acclaimed for its ingeniously designed revolving sutra repository.
In Fujian’s Pingtan, a large number of tourists came to see the enchanting sight of “blue tears.” From April to June each year, marine organisms like algae and sea tints gather along the coastline of Pingtan. At night, they emit a blue glow, creating a dreamlike seaside scenery.
Although the tourist attractions in small counties have attracted many visitors, the limited reception capacity of these small counties is insufficient in providing a perfect Golden Week travel experience. For example, in Pingtan, some tourists tried to rent electric scooters to tour various attractions but found the mountain road outside their homestay heavily congested. The lack of traffic control and sufficient road width caused inconvenience in travel. Additionally, some tourists encountered exorbitant taxi fares, leading to dissatisfaction.
Not just the small counties, even rural tourism is equally popular. A visitor from Nanjing, Xiao Yi, decided on a whim to take her parents on a self-driving tour through ancient villages in Anhui Province during the Labor Day holiday. She recalled her trip to Wuyuan in Jiangxi with friends during the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday. They ventured into the village, visiting remote ancient villages, where the Huizhou architecture, the walls covered in blossoming rapeseed flowers, and the birds flying by all revealed a serene and tranquil atmosphere.
Labor Day travel is meant to be a joyous occasion, but it often leads to regret when not planned in advance. Just like Xiao Yi’s experience this Labor Day holiday, she never imagined that an unrefined travel plan would make her squeeze through a sea of people. Her initial intention was to visit the legendary secluded ancient village in the Jiangnan region—Chengkan in Huangshan City, but she didn’t expect to encounter traffic congestion and overwhelmingly crowded conditions.
Unfortunately, Xiao Yi discovered that it was impossible to find a room on the Chengkan booking platform. After a long wait and effort, she finally managed to book a room in a motel with average conditions, but the price was as high as over seven hundred yuan, and the room conditions were far from ideal. The next morning, Xiao Yi, hoping to avoid the tourists and experience the tranquility of the ancient village, found an even larger crowd bustling around than the day before, shattering her dreamy illusion.
“This place isn’t really worth visiting,” said Xiao Yi, disappointed. However, in such an environment, some people began to search for less-developed niche travel destinations, hoping to stumble upon a hidden gem. The push from social media, coupled with the younger generation’s desire to explore non-traditional tourist destinations, has brought some attention to these unknown “treasure” counties.
Li Jun from the School of Tourism Management at South China Normal University provided an analysis of this phenomenon, considering that the promotion on social media, the pursuit of niche tourism destinations, and the trend of reverse tourism are the reasons for the popularity of county cultural tourism this year. However, he also pointed out that these places have limited reception capacity, and once they become hotspots, too many tourists can also put pressure on the local area.
Contrasting with Xiao Yi’s experience is Li Tingting from Tianjin. She shunned the bustling tourist attractions and chose the ancient city of Jun County in Hebei as her holiday destination. During her anticipated tranquil travel experience, Li Tingting unexpectedly discovered that Jun County not only has a profound cultural and historical background but also maintains its places of interest well, with affordable ticket prices.
Li Tingting and her husband also went to Mount Dazhong during the May Day period, where they found rare stone Buddha statues. Compared to the crowded famous tourist spots, the beautiful mountains and rivers and the scarcity of tourists allowed them to enjoy the serenity in a beautiful environment.
These experiences indicate that niche and off-the-beaten-path doesn’t mean unworthy of visiting; they merely await more travelers’ exploration and discovery. In this increasingly noisy world, perhaps we should seek out more of those undisturbed quiet corners to experience a truly spiritual journey.
Li Tingting and her husband spent several hours hiking in the mountains, reveling in their contentment. As night fell, they also witnessed the wonderful light show of the ancient city as well as performances of stilts and spinning tops full of folk characteristics. Surprisingly, the total cost of their two days of play was only 600 yuan, which was incredibly low, because during the peak travel season in popular destinations, this amount wouldn’t even cover a night’s lodging. Li Tingting spoke highly of Jun County, calling it a “super cost-effective” destination, not only because of the reasonable prices but also because of the profound cultural heritage.
At the same time, antiquities expert Gao Zhen found a niche and free treasure in Hebei Zhengding — the Zhengding Confucian Temple, whose Dacheng Hall is considered the oldest surviving Confucian temple building in China. He spent a long time visiting it on one day during the Golden Week. On April 30, he also explored the Ge Yuan Temple in Laiyuan County and the Qing Xiling in Yi County, Hebei. Ge Yuan Temple, as one of the eight existing Liao architecture in China, preserves its original appearance without modern repairs, presenting a rich ecological past. The place is also known as the “Museum of Ancient Chinese Windows” for showcasing Liao and Jin dynasty window lattices. Gao Zhen enjoyed observing the beautiful details of ancient architecture at leisure in such tranquility.
At the Tai Mausoleum in Qingxiling, Yi County, Gao Zhen could almost enjoy the entire scene by himself, encountering fewer than a dozen tourists. The place was pleasant, backed by mountains and surrounded by green pines, with the fragrance of pine wood permeating the air. Strolling alone amidst such ancient cultural heritage, he felt joy in body and mind, not at all disturbed by the fact that Tai Mausoleum was a burial site.
Gao Zhen believes that among the more than two thousand county-level administrative regions in China, many cultural and natural treasures are hidden, and these little-known scenes are the real China. He has traveled to Shanxi and other places during the May Day and National Day holidays, where the sparse number of tourists allowed him to experience the tranquility of the area. Especially in the Zhuozhang River area in Changzhi, Shanxi, where ancient architecture is dense, such as the unique Five Dynasties temple murals in Dayun Courtyard, and the unique Five Dynasties Xuan Mountain architecture in Longmen Temple, all left a deep impression on him. Gao Zhen has great affection for these early pieces of Chinese ancient architecture, feeling they perfectly combine the curved beauty of flying eaves with the rigid beauty of dougong brackets. He also has a deep affection for stone carving art, particularly fond of the stone carvings in Anyue, Sichuan, which not only display divinity but also blend in humanity, moving him deeply. The caves in Anyue are widely distributed, often hidden among fields, making the search for caves like a journey full of surprises.
Common interests have caused the group of antiquity-seeking enthusiasts like Gao Zhen to grow stronger. According to industry information, the “New Chinese Style” travel model centered around ancient cities and towns and featuring intangible cultural heritage experiences is popular among tourists during this year’s May Day holiday. However, in many areas, the true value of cultural and tourist attractions has not been fully recognized, and the corresponding tourist facilities and services still need improvement. For travelers with a profound interest in ancient buildings, like Gao Zhen, one of the main problems is the inconvenience of transportation, as many places are almost inaccessible by public transport.
China’s current county-level tourism faces numerous challenges. For backpackers, many places have limited dining options, often only allowing for a hasty meal with cookies, milk, and water hurriedly consumed on the go.
Expert Li Jun believes that the development of county tourism suffers not only from poor dining options but also cannot ignore safety issues. Some areas have poor road conditions, complex terrain, frequent traffic accidents, and due to their remoteness, rescue cannot arrive in time. Worse, tourists may encounter villagers setting up checkpoints to extort money along the way.
For cultural scholars and tourism operators, they have serious concerns about the current rural tourism development model. Some places sacrifice historical heritage to attract tourists, leading to a uniform appearance across thousands of villages and cities. Senior editor Ai Shaoqiang expressed deep regret about this, especially with Zhouzhuang as a representative, such development models are common in many ancient villages and towns.
In the observation of Ai Shaoqiang, Tangqi Ancient Town was originally a place with unique charm, but in the process of development, old doors and windows were sold off. When in need later, the town had to seek externally, resulting in a situation of cultural loss.
According to a scholar in Yunnan, the most serious problem is the ‘loss’ of everyday rural life. The villages in Xishuangbanna have been fully developed by tourism companies. The villagers of the past have become performers, and the nightly lights shining into the sky like searchlights no longer reflect the tranquility of daily life.
The disappearance of the everyday life in the villages may lead to the gradual fading of the unique characteristics that attract tourists.
In Deqin County of Yunnan, the Meili Snow Mountain has seen a surge of tourists to Mingyong Village following a tragedy, leading to a rapid transformation of the village. Tour guide Cili Zhuoma expressed concern about this. The once peaceful Tibetan village has been rapidly commercialized, and villagers have changed their way of life to adapt to tourist demands, abandoning their traditional livelihoods.
The popularity of tourist attractions always affects tourist movements. Lately, they prefer local Tibetan homes over standardized hotel rooms in cities. With the opening of roads to the Yubeng village in the Meili Snow Mountain area, increased accessibility has brought more tourists, causing a drastic decline in visitor numbers to the nearby Mingyong Village. Local resident Cili Zhuoma laments that tourists arrive in groups and, once they leave, they do not return.
However, can Yubeng, now unveiled and boasting many popular homestays, avoid the fate of Mingyong Village? “To retain tourists, culture is essential,” Cili Zhuoma emphasized. From the outset of tourism planning, it is necessary to clarify the target customer base and service positioning and choose whether to develop mass tourism or in-depth tourism.
Cili Zhuoma has long insisted on developing distinctive tourism. For her, offering in-depth cultural experiences through eco-tourism is more suitable for small-scale locations. The model she supports, like the Songzan Hotel in the Tibetan area, integrates Tibetan culture into the hotel environment and is located within the village. Here, villagers interact with tourists and engage together in everyday activities, such as milking cows or making butter tea, and exchange stories. Nowadays, Cili Zhuoma is dedicated to the same cause in a small village with just 12 households.
She says that compared to the snapshots with scenery, deep connections with local people and culture are what make tourists return and continue to recommend visits to others; this model is sustainable.
When mentioning an example worth learning from, Ai Shaoqiang believes that the ancient city of Pingyao deserves attention. Since Pingyao was listed as a World Cultural Heritage site in 1997, local residents remain active in all aspects of life in the ancient city; they run hostels, shops, and live within the ancient city. Pingyao is also known for its international photography exhibition and other art events.
Lijiang Ancient Town, which was also inscribed as a World Cultural Heritage site the same year, is currently undergoing a transformation by the local government. Once criticized for excessive commercialization and stereotypes, Lijiang is now trying to return to its cultural essence. Yang Fuquan, a researcher at the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences and a native Naxi, suggests strictly controlling tourist flow, but realizes this is hard to enforce in reality. The Lijiang Ancient Town Management Bureau has started to make improvements, opening up public courtyard spaces and increasing Dongba cultural activities, encouraging local participation. “The government will provide subsidies,” said Yang Fuquan.
Now, visitors have the opportunity to view exhibitions, learn Naxi dance and music, traditional paper-making, and the Dongba script. Among these initiatives, a courtyard has even been transformed into a memorial hall for Joseph Rock, introducing the story of this Western explorer and his connections with Lijiang, with Yang Fuquan overseeing the planning.
“We cannot expect the original residents to move back. In the face of the torrent of commercialization, what needs consideration is, how to make tourists like coming here, how to preserve culture while commercializing, and how to innovate on the basis of heritage.” Yang Fuquan believes that one solution still lies in the development of distinctive, in-depth tourism, especially cultural tourism.
“The government should not be content with mass tourism, such as how many tens of thousands of visitors it attracted this year. The key is to explore what others don’t have and what we have uniquely. The core of ancient town and village tourism in the future will be the cultural experience,” says Yang Fuquan. Li Jun shares the same view. He thinks that to create authentic local cultural and tourism products, developers need to deeply understand the local history, art, customs, and lifestyle.
Such products cannot be created by simple imitation or copying; neither can they emerge from rush jobs that aim for quick success. “They require the sedimentation of time, as well as continuous exploration of the essence of local culture,” he says.
“Culture is a long process of accumulation. After experiencing fast-food style consumer tourism, people will ultimately return to in-depth cultural experiences. Previously, some places were too eager for quick success. But with knowledgeable people in the government continuously guiding towards a healthier path, after all, everyone needs a sustainable development pathway,” says Ai Shaoqiang.
