Hunan scenic area boosts hot spot bona fides

On a theater stage framed by the towering sandstone peaks of Wulingyuan Scenic Area in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province, Pablo, a Spanish tourist, donned traditional Tujia wedding attire, playing the role of bridegroom as hundreds of spectators cheered.

The mock ceremony at Charming Xiangxi Theater offered him an unforgettable introduction to local customs. For local business owners and operators, it represents something more strategic — a golden opportunity to attract tourist revenue after travelers descend from the world-famous Zhangjiajie peaks.

"We had never seen a performance like this," Pablo said afterwards. "I would like to learn more about traditional Chinese culture."

Across Zhangjiajie and neighboring historical towns in western Hunan, rising inbound arrivals are encouraging businesses to expand beyond scenic-area tickets into evening entertainment, accommodation, dining and cultural experiences.

Official data underscore the momentum. Zhangjiajie welcomed 860,700 inbound visits from 195 countries and regions in the first seven months, up by 19.01 percent year-on-year. Tourism foreign-exchange earnings increased 40.52 percent to $98.5 million.

The demographic profile of visitors is also undergoing a structural shift. European and US travelers accounted for nearly 35 percent of total inbound arrivals, with their numbers rising 211.36 percent year-on-year and helping diversify a market long dominated by travelers from South Korea.

This surge has been powered in large part by China's expanding visa-free policies. China has expanded unilateral visa-free access to citizens of 50 countries for stays of up to 30 days, while nationals of 57 countries are eligible for its visa-free transit policy, following the addition of Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam on Thursday.

Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport is among the 65 designated ports for the transit policy. The airport operates 13 passenger routes to eight countries and regions, and long-haul travel Western visitors increasingly bundle the city into multi-stop itineraries across China.

For years, Zhangjiajie's international acclaim rested largely on its quartz-sandstone pillars, famously associated with the floating mountains in the blockbuster 2009 film Avatar. Today, regional stakeholders view these iconic vistas merely as the starting point of an extended consumer journey.

"The underlying business logic is to shift from one-off gate admissions to capturing spending across the entire travel chain as visitors extend their stays. Accommodation, dining, performances and immersive cultural experiences can all generate additional revenue," said Huang Yuanji, vice-president of Hunan University of Finance and Economics.

At Charming Xiangxi Theater, which showcases the heritage of the Tujia, Miao and other ethnic groups, the number of overseas visitors reached 116,000 from 188 countries and regions between January and July, up 43 percent year-on-year.

To bridge cultural divides, the theater provides subtitles in English and Korean, with Russian and Spanish in the works. Promotional materials have also been tailored. Traditional acrobatic acts, for example, are introduced using references to Chinese kung fu that foreign viewers intuitively grasp.

"Foreign visitors might not know what Xiangxi is, but they know Zhangjiajie's mountains and are interested in authentic traditions. Our job is to interpret local heritage in ways they understand," said Xu Shan, general manager of the theater.

A short distance away, Xiangxi Fu, a newly opened cultural tourism attraction in Wulingyuan, welcomes guests with traditional drum performances, ethnic folk songs and ceremonial welcome wine before ushering them into a courtyard complex dedicated to centuries of Tusi history.

The attraction says foreign visitors account for 30 to 40 percent of its tourists.

"Our goal is to transform static heritage exhibitions into participatory workshops and performances, giving visitors compelling reasons to linger in town after their mountain hikes," said Tang Linfang, the site's marketing director.