During the Spring Festival holiday, 23 tourist attractions surveyed received a total of 1,364,100 tourists, a year-on-year increase of 340.61%; and 24 hotels/family-run lodges surveyed received a total of 26,039 tourists, a year-on-year increase of 10.37%, with the bed occupancy rates of hotels and family-run lodges reaching 77.33% and 95.52% respectively, according to statistics released.
Combining tourism with traditional culture, Huaihua has launched a wide range of activities and diverse tourism products combining sightseeing, food tasting and folklore experiences, which has helped promote its cultural and tourism brand.
The tourism golden triangle of “Anjiang Agricultural Culture Tourist Area - Hongjiang Ancient Commercial Town - Qianyang Ancient Town” has gained popularity.
During the Spring Festival, Anjiang Agricultural School Hybrid Rice Memorial Park held a series of activities combining Spring Festival holiday purchases, snack feasts and folklore experiences to celebrate a bumper year.
People celebrate the bumper year at Anjiang.
According to a tourist from Guangdong Province, it was his first time to Anjiang Agricultural School where Academician Yuan Longping, the father of hybrid rice, had lived and worked. He was impressed by the folklore performances to greet the country’s most grand and important festival and felt it was a worthwhile trip.
A long-table banquet is held at Qianyang Ancient Town.
A special program of Hunan TV was filmed at Hongjiang County-Level City. The program provided a perfect opportunity to present the charm of folk culture through introducing a variety of colorful activities to TV viewers, including the long-table banquet held at Qianyang Ancient Town, the poetry festival at Furong Tower, Rice Culture Festival held by Anjiang Agricultural School and folk song performance of Sanli Dong Village.
The program became very popular since it was shown on TV and successfully boosted the popularity of the tourism golden triangle of “Anjiang Agricultural Culture Tourist Area - Hongjiang Ancient Commercial Town - Qianyang Ancient Town”.
Celebration for the Spring Festival kicks off at Hongjiang Ancient Commercial Town on February 10. (Photo/Huang Wensheng)
The tradition of performing Lion dance during the Spring Festival has been carried out by the locals for hundreds of years. Dozens of lion dance teams staged performance on the street of Hongjiang three days before the festival, which, together with other folklore performances, created a warm and joyful environment for citizens and tourists to enjoy the grand festival.
Featured activities drew a large crowd of all ages.
On February 2, folklore and ethnic performances were staged at the Jinjiang Plaza of Mayang County.
A Miao bridal fair is staged at the Jinjiang Plaza. (Photo/Zhang Jie)
Miao marriage customs, including crying marriage, meeting the bride, escorting bride to groom’s house, etc., were presented on stage. The 50-minute show won a burst of applause from the audience.
At the Huangdu Dong Village of Tongdao County, various ethnic activities such as door-blocking wine, Dong ethnic dance, lion dance and making glutinous rice cake were held to celebrate the Spring Festival.
Ms. Yang, a tourist from Shenzhen, who enjoyed the long-table banquet with her family, said, “The dishes were special and delicious, and the atmosphere was joyous.”
New Year traditional activities held in Huaihua attracted some foreign tourists. Neda from Iran visited the Yan’e’jie Village of Xupu County. “It’s amazing to know that people living here have the same tradition of making a new quilt for wedding as my countrymen,” he said.
Denis, a tourist from the United States, toured the Fengxiang Yao Village, where he danced with Dong people. “The experience is really fascinating, and the dance is difficult yet interesting to learn,” he said.
Tourism industry rebounded during the Spring Festival.
At Zhijiang County, tourists marveled at the light show outlining a dragon hovering over the wind and rain bridge. A series of public events combining the dragon elements in celebration of the Year of Dragon were welcomed by tourists.
Visitors interact with giraffe at Huaihua Wildlife Park.
Huaihua Wildlife Park at Zhongfang County offered a tour, allowing visitors to observe and interact with friendly animals. Visitors born in the Year of Dragon could enter the park free of charge.
Yuanling County carried out a seven-day celebration at Eryou Mountain, inviting residents and tourists to participate in folklore activities such as distributing luck bags, bamboo pole dancing, and enjoying long-table banquet.
Chenxi Museum organized the Chinese Zodiac Cultural Relics Exhibition, introducing the profound symbolic meanings of dragon in traditional culture. The Memorial Hall of Comrade Su Yu in Huitong County launched the themed exhibition dedicated to General Su Yu and his contribution to the victory at Huaihai Battle in 1948.
During the Spring Festival, many people visited historical sites and revolutionary memorials, including Tongdao Red Army Long March Transfer Memorial Hall, the Memorial Hall of Comrade Xiang Jingyu, and the Victory Park Honoring the Campaign to Suppress Bandits in Western Hunan, to cherish the memory of revolutionary martyrs.
(Translated by Yang Hong)