Cultural experiences enrich China's summer travel season
In recent years, places across China have drawn on the cultural heritage associated with writers' former residences and literary landmarks to develop a wide range of tourism initiatives, transforming travel from simply snapping photos into a more immersive experience.
China's summer travel season is experiencing a cultural renaissance, with museums, sports events, stage performances, and literary landmarks adding depth to tourists' journeys. This summer, cultural venues across the country have extended their hours, offering theme exhibitions, immersive study tours, and intangible cultural heritage experiences to attract families.
At the National Natural History Museum of China in Beijing, visitors can now explore the dinosaur exhibition hall after dark through a special Museum Night program. In Weinan, Shaanxi Province, the Weinan Museum has transcended its exhibition halls to host outdoor concerts that blend classic songs with local history.
Shunde, Guangdong Province, offers a script-based tour around an exhibition on xiangyunsha, a prized traditional silk fabric. Visitors can role-play as dyeing workshop owners or fashion designers while solving story-driven puzzles. Similar programs are being implemented in Tongjiang, Heilongjiang Province, where a local museum pairs fish-skin painting with local history, and in Anshun, Guizhou Province, where visitors can try painting Dixi opera masks and explore other intangible cultural heritage handicrafts.
Yunnan Province's Dali and Lijiang's Yuhu village are integrating agriculture, culture, and tourism through tie-dye workshops and folk experiences. Intangible cultural heritage is no longer confined to static displays but is now embedded in everyday life, according to Cai Hong, director of the Tourism Research Center of Capital University of Economics and Business.
Sports events and stage performances are also boosting cultural and tourism spending. In Weifang, Shandong Province, a grassroots football tournament offers free entry to scenic spots and hotel discounts, along with a fan marketplace selling local foods and intangible cultural heritage products. Similar scenarios, known as the "ticket stub economy," can be seen at the Yuelu Mountain Youth Theatre Festival in Changsha, Hunan Province, and the Harbin Summer Music Season in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province.
Travelers are also following literary landmarks rather than traditional itineraries. In Beijing, the Ditan (Temple of Earth) Park, featured in writer Shi Tiesheng's famous essay "The Temple of Earth and I," draws visitors. In Shanghai, Wukang Road, associated with Eileen Chang's writings, is another popular literary destination.
This trend has led to the development of tourism initiatives centered around writers' former residences and literary landmarks, transforming travel into an immersive experience beyond simply taking photographs.
Written by urgent.news from IOL's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
