Shanxi launches program celebrating the Great Wall

Shanxi province launched the Great Wall "fortress master" recruitment program on Wednesday, inviting cultural scholars, singers and travel enthusiasts from around the world to create and promote works related to the Great Wall resources in the province.

The winners will receive a reward of up to 10,000 yuan ($1,392).

The 2023 Great Wall Seeking Fortresses brand event and Great Wall Tour Diary activity are organized by the Shanxi provincial department of culture and tourism, with the aim of creatively promoting the Great Wall National Cultural Park and its tourism resources.

The chosen "fortress masters" will be tasked with creating designated works in their respective fields and will receive a bonus of 2,000 yuan upon completion, in addition to enjoying a complimentary experience. The works will be uploaded to social media platforms and scored based on metrics such as views, likes, shares and comments.

"We hope to present a more youthful and fashionable image of the park using storytelling language and methods that are more in line with the times, presenting the oldest civilization story in the trendiest way," said Li Qianqian, the person in charge of the event.

The selected "fortress masters" will be invited to visit iconic sections of the Great Wall for free and experience traditional local crafts and intangible cultural heritages. Their 3-day trip will be filmed and produced as a micro-variety travel documentary. The Great Wall Tour Diary will integrate tourism, travel photography and micro-variety shows to promote representative Great Wall tourism resources in Shanxi such as the sections at Li'erkou, Shoukoubu and Deshengbu in Datong city.

Shanxi is rich in Great Wall resources. In recent years, the province has been committed to digging deep into the history and culture of the Great Wall and creating a tourism belt while protecting the resources.