Dongting Dialogue Manifesto seeks sustainable tourism in Hunan

The Dongting Dialogue Manifesto, which advocates sustainable tourism and cultural preservation, was released on Sunday on the sidelines of 2025 World Tourism Alliance — Dongting Dialogue in Yueyang, Hunan province.

The manifesto, shaped by Hunan's ecological and cultural practices and expert insights, calls for enhanced protection of the ecological foundation of tourism, activation of cultural tourism value, integration of technology with ecological culture, global cultural and tourism integration, and high-quality cultural tourism development for worldwide benefit.

The Dongting Dialogue, an international event initiated and hosted by the World Tourism Alliance, is a supporting activity of the fourth Hunan Tourism Development Conference, which also commenced on Sunday. The event brought together experts and scholars from around the world to explore the integrated development of ecological tourism and cultural heritage, promoting a sustainable tourism model that balances environmental protection, economic benefits and social welfare.

The fourth Hunan Tourism Development Conference officially opened on Sunday evening in Yueyang, drawing nearly 600 domestic and international guests to witness the city's growth through major events and to experience its scenic beauty.

Yueyang was designated an international wetland city in late January at the 64th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention in Gland, Switzerland.

"Yueyang became one of the 22 cities in China to receive this honor," said Zhang Xu, chairman of the World Tourism Alliance. He noted that Yueyang has "relied on the characteristics and advantages of wetland resources to innovate the model of wetland protection and development".

Zhang highlighted the "Smart Yueyang Tower", which utilizes digital humans and AI large-scale model technology to "deeply activate the culture of Yueyang Tower and build a smart historical venue". He added that the city consistently creates distinctive local festive activities to strengthen event IPs and maximize benefits.

"Yueyang is gradually becoming a demonstration city for the integration of cultural tourism in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, providing a vivid sample for the Dongting Dialogue event," Zhang said.

He expressed hope that Yueyang would continue to leverage its resource advantages to promote cultural empowerment, ecological value-added and industrial upgrades, fostering a deep integration of cultural tourism, ecology and economy.

Yueyang began its wetland conservation efforts in the 1980s with the establishment of the East Dongting Lake National Nature Reserve. The city has achieved a wetland conservation rate of 67 percent and is home to more than 300 bird species, including 18 species of first-class nationally protected birds, according to the local government.

"Yueyang is known as China's 'Capital of Bird Watching' in China and 'Hometown of Dragon Boats'," said Xie Weijiang, Party secretary of Yueyang.

He noted that the city has hosted 13 Dongting Lake International Bird Watching Festivals and 19 China Miluo River International Dragon Boat Races.

"We are now building a bridgehead for Hunan's opening to the world," Xie said. "Seizing the opportunity of the tourism development conference, we hope to build an international tourism consumption city via the construction of a world-class Yueyang Tower historical, cultural protection and utilization demonstration zone and the Yueyang Tower-Dongting Lake world-class tourism resort."

During the event, nine new tourism routes were unveiled, covering areas around Dongting Lake in Yueyang and the golden tourism belt along the Yangtze River.

Representatives from renowned towers and lakes, including Yueyang Tower in Yueyang; Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, Hubei province; Dongting Lake Tourism and Resorts Zone in Yueyang; Poyang Lake National Wetland Park in Jiangxi province; and Taihu Lake Tourism Resort in Jiangsu province, signed memorandums of tourism cooperation.

Contact the writers at zhouhuiying@chinadaily.com.cn