"Thisplaceisamazing—morebeautifulthaninpostersormovies!"saidayoungmanfromMoscow,Russia,feelingrefreshedashegazedattheextraordinarysceneryofZhangjiajie.OnJuly27,hesuccessfullyproposedtohisgirlfriendatthescenicspotandwonherheart.

Inthefirsthalfofthisyear,Zhangjiajierecorded699,200inboundtouristvisits,up23.66%yearonyear.Itsforeignexchangeearningsfromtourismreached79.4128millionUSD,up31.69%.

Inboundtourismisnottheonlyvibrantsector.Recently,theHunanProvincialDepartmentofCultureandTourismreleaseddataonkeymonitoredscenicareasforthefirsthalfoftheyear.Datashowedthatthe937monitoredscenicspotsacrosstheprovincereceived244milliontouristvisits,up3.91%yearonyear.

BehindthisgrowthliesatrendierupgradeandamoreinternationalimageofHunan'sculturaltourism.

NewProjectsBringNewExperiences

"Mom,Isawarealfairy!"Recently,netizen"XiaoLeng"wasextremelyexcitedtoencounterZhangHuiwen,astarwhoparticipatedinMangoTV'srealityshow"SistersWhoMakeWaves,"experiencingthe"FlyingFairy"projectatChangshaTongguanKilnChina-chicThemePark.Subsequently,Zhang'sflyingvideowentviralacrossmajorsocialplatforms.NetizensjokinglysaidthatHuiwenhasbeenflyinginmyphonefordays.

"FlyingFairy"isanamusementfacilityintroducedbyTongguanKilnChina-chicThemeParklastyearandhasnowbecomeahitatthepark.AccordingtoprojectmanagerZhangTing,over100peoplecometotryiteachdayduringholidays."Wehavesixstoresnationwide,andtheoneinChangshaisthemostsuccessful,consistentlyrankingamongthetopinpopularity."

InJune,BixiangchuAlleyinChangshastartedoperation,withmorethanhalfofthesettledbrandsbeingexclusivedebutstores.Themarketperformanceontheopeningdaywasimpressive—60,000visitsandthefirst-daysalesofOLA'sdebutstoreinCentralChinaexceedingonemillionCNY.SincetheopeningofthedebutoutletofaChengdu-basedlate-nightbarbrandinHunan,ithasrankedfirstinsalesamongChangsha'sbarsontheDianpingapp.EquallyimpressiveiswhatliesjustacrossthestreetontheXiangjiangRiverwaterway,wherethenewenergyluxurycruiseshipJuzhoureceived32,948touristridesinthefirsthalfoftheyear,drivinga73.2%year-on-yearincreaseinthetotalpassengervolumeofcruisesontheXiangjiangRiver.

Newprojectshavebeenrolledoutacrosstheprovince.Duringthe6thHunanTourismDevelopmentConferencethisMay,thehostcity,Xiangtan,officiallyopenedthenewattractionSahuan-Yangmeizhou.Centeringonanurbanpastoraltheme,theattractionoffereddiverseexperiencessuchaswaterfrontrecreation,flower-fieldcamping,andall-ageamusementactivities,creatingaone-stopleisureandvacationdestinationontheoutskirtsoftheChangsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtanmetropolitanarea.TheFurongguoliRV(recreationalvehicle)VillaHotelopenedattheWanlouScenicArea,boostingtouristfootfallby81%.

Zhangjiajie'sDayongAncientTownreopenedonJuly10,enrichingZhangjiajie'surbantourismofferingswithayouthfulvibeandnewexperiences.

"GreaterZhangjiajie"AcceleratesInternationalization

ThecouplementionedabovearejusttwoofthemanyRussiantouristsinZhangjiajie.ZhangjiajieChinaTravelServicealonehasreceived5,000Russiantouristvisitsthisyear.HunanStarToursInternationalTravelServicesawinboundtouristnumbersrisebyover40%yearonyearinthefirsthalfoftheyear.Zhangjiajieboastsunparallelednaturalresources,thegovernmenthasrampedupinternationalpromotion,andword-of-mouthfromtourists—allcontributedtothesurgeinZhangjiajie'sinboundtourism,saidDingShibiao,deputygeneralmanagerofHunanStarToursInternationalTravelService.

DengDaoli,directorofthePublicityOfficeofthePublicityDepartmentoftheCPCWulingyuanDistrictCommittee,saidthatmoreandmoreforeigntravelersseeZhangjiajienotonlyasatraveldestinationbutalsoasaplaceforphysicalandmentalhealing."Manyforeigntravelerscomeheretopracticeyoga,andsomeevenvisittraditionalChinesemedicine(TCM)clinicstoexperienceTCM."

Zhangjiajieisbecomingincreasinglytrendy,saidTianHongman,memberofthePartyWorkingCommitteeanddeputydirectoroftheZhangjiajieMunicipalBureauofCulture,Tourism,Radio,TelevisionandSports.ThenewZhangjiajieculturaltourismmap"Summit,"developedincooperationwiththeinternationalgameValorant,wasreleasedgloballyonJune21.ByearlyJuly,themaphadreceivedmorethan2.6billionviewsandover36.9millioninteractions.Currently,ithastwomillionplayersdaily,35%ofwhomarefromoverseas.Thescenicareaalsocollaboratedwithwell-knownbrandssuchasCHAGEEtodevelopproductssuchasfigurines,coffee,milktea,andTujiabrocadeitems,whichhaveprovenhighlypopularwithconsumers.

HunanreleasedtheActionPlanfortheConstructionoftheGreaterZhangjiajieInternationalTourismAreaatthebeginningofthisyear,packaging38counties,county-levelcities,anddistrictsfromfourcitiesandoneprefecture,tofullyenergizeHunan'sinboundtourism.OnJuly23,the"GreaterZhangjiajie"brandlogo,slogan,promotionalvideo,andthefirstbatchofeightinboundtouristrouteswereunveiled,making"GreaterZhangjiajie"anincreasinglyinternationalface.

FurongTown,whichisinternationallypopular,hasbeenpropelledtoahigherlevelunderthe"GreaterZhangjiajie"strategy.AsofJune30,thescenicspotreceived1.48millionticket-holdingvisits,includingover400,000visitsmadebyforeigntravelers,comparedto338,000inboundtouristvisitsforalloflastyear.Injusthalfayear,FurongTownScenicSpothasalreadyreachedlastyear'sfull-yeartargetininboundtourism."Ihaveneverseensomanyforeignersinonescenicspot.ItistrulyFurongTownoftheworld!"exclaimedanetizen."Foreigntouristshavebeencominginlargenumbersthisyear,"eventhestaffatthescenicspotweresurprised.