Yangtze River's cultural attractions promoted to drive domestic tourism

Thirteen provinces and municipalities, along with eight cities in Jiangsu province, unveiled boutique cultural tourism routes along the Yangtze River and a list of 100 captivating scenic attractions at a cultural festival in Suzhou, Jiangsu, on Friday.

The ongoing Yangtze River Culture Festival in Zhangjiagang, Suzhou, jointly hosted by the publicity department of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and Suzhou's city government, aims to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Yangtze River region, enticing tourists to explore its vibrant traditions.

At a folk culture market, visitors can look forward to immersive experiences and performances representing diverse ethnic cultures, such as the silver ornaments of the Miao ethnic group, the mountain song interactions of the Bai ethnic group, the face-changing and fire-spitting of Sichuan province and the drum-assisted theatrical storytelling of Hubei province.

At a special museum exhibition called Fantasy Tour of the Yangtze River and the Sea — Yangtze River Civilization and the Maritime Silk Road, visitors can have an immersive experience at the Huangsipu archaeological site.

The archaeological site showcases the Huangsipu area's prosperous foreign trade exchanges, many types of porcelain kilns, and the dissemination of Buddhism and other cultural exchanges during the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties.

It was rated one of China's Top 10 new archaeological discoveries in 2018 and has been listed as a candidate for Maritime Silk Road heritage status.

Han Bingqing, director of Zhangjiagang's Cultural Relics Protection and Management Center, said the Huangsipu Archaeological Site Park will eventually cover an area of 525 hectares.

"It aims to provide an ecological park that integrates archaeological research, entertainment and interaction with the public," Han said.

A contemporary art exhibition titled Dialogue: The Maritime Silk Road and Future Intangible Cultural Heritage, a small theater art season in the Yangtze River Basin, and a seminar on the construction of rural tourism clusters are also being held during the festival.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Yangtze River Culture Festival, which has played a vital role in promoting the integration and sharing of cultural and tourism resources in the Yangtze River region.

Over the past two decades, Zhangjiagang has collaborated with more than 200 organizations to organize over 180 large cultural activities that have attracted more than 500 million participants online and offline.

Han Wei, Party chief of Zhangjiagang, said the Yangtze River Culture Festival vividly interprets the spiritual connotations and contemporary values of Yangtze River culture.

"Zhangjiagang will continue to make efforts to build itself as an important window to display the achievements of Jiangsu's strong, prosperous, beautiful and high-tech development, and a cultural engine to promote the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt," he said.

In its continuous efforts to enhance cultural development and provide recreational spaces for residents, Suzhou, has completed several new public attractions.

The Kunshan Chinese Opera Museum, the Taicang Zheng He Memorial Hall, and the Caoxie Mountain Archaeological Site Park are expected to become popular destinations for tourists interested in cultural attractions.

Since late 2021, steady progress has been made on the construction of the Yangtze River National Cultural Park in 13 provinces and municipalities along the river.

The construction in Suzhou will primarily focus on Zhangjiagang, Taicang and Changshu. The project will highlight the civilization of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, its international exchanges, and the 1,000-year-old cultural heritage of water towns.