From April 19 to 20, 2025, the national launch event of the “Rural Internet Celebrity Going to the Grassroots” campaign was held at the Weifang World Kite Park. At the event, the National Public Cultural Development Center under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced the list of 16 selected locations across 12 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities for the 2025 “Rural Internet Celebrity Going to the Grassroots” initiative. Huaihua City was the only representative from Hunan Province to be included on this list.
Since launching its rural influencer cultivation and promotion program in the second half of 2023, Huaihua has attracted attention and strong support from relevant higher-level departments. In 2024, the Municipal Bureau of Culture, Tourism, Radio, TV and Sports was recognized as a national demonstration unit for the cultivation and promotion of rural online influencers. Four municipal departments jointly introduced a series of activities to improve the profile of tourism villages. They also held the 2024 Huaihua Online Anchor Training Program and organized six staff members to participate in the national rural online influencer cultivation training. A demonstration event for the National Rural Online Influencer Cultivation and Promotion Unit (Huaihua) and the “Voice Duel” village gala was held in Xupu County, with on-site guidance from the National Public Cultural Development Center. The Huaihua Cultural Center delivered keynote presentations at the national demonstration site seminar and, upon invitation by the National Public Cultural Development Center, gave a speech to introduction its experience at the China Cultural Center Annual Conference held in Guangzhou. The model cases of Harmonious Village Ambassadors were included in China Cultural Centers Blue Book (2021-2023). In April, the case titled “Exploring the Establishment of a Coordinated Mechanism for Rural Online Influencers to Foster New Quality Productive Forces of Cultural Tourism” was selected as one of Huaihua’s Top Ten Examples of Reform and Innovation.
According to reports, after applications by localities, recommendations from provincial cultural centers, and deliberations by the Rural Online Influencer Cultivation Plan Office, the Development Center of State Public Culture under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism finalized the selected locations for the 2025 national “Rural Internet Celebrity Going to the Grassroots” campaign. Key activities include intensified training programs, certification of a batch of rural online influencers to be included in the national talent pool, traffic support from the Kuaishou platform, and continued follow-up support; enhanced publicity by organizing outstanding rural online influencers to do live-streaming sales at the grassroots level; increased volunteer services through artistic performance staged by volunteer teams at grassroots communities; more people-benefiting initiatives such as launching “Rural Micro Markets”; and better resource integration by selecting several districts and counties to settle into the rural online influencer bases.
It is reported that Huaihua will host the 2025 national “Rural Internet Celebrity Going to the Grassroots” (Huaihua Station) event organized by the Development Center of State Public Culture under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, as well as the 4th Hunan Rural Internet Celebrity Competition themed “Wonderful Tourism Villages: Online Influencers Take You on a Tour of Hunan.” The city will carry out “Rural Internet Celebrities of One Hundred Villages” events with the Development Center of State Public Culture broadcasting them to promote these activities as well as the 5th Hunan Tourism Development Conference held in Huaihua, aiming to advance the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas.
(Translated by Yang Hong)