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During May Day holiday this year, Lishui City fully integrated its high-quality cultural and tourism resources, offering a wide array of vibrant activities and creating a flourishing landscape of tourism consumption. According to data from the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, Lishui received a total of 1.182 million tourists citywide, a year-on-year increase of 25.8%, the highest growth rate in the province, and generated RMB 1.14 billion in tourism revenue.
Leveraging coordinated efforts across the entire region, the themed flower-viewing campaign “Enjoy Blooming Spring Flowers in Lishui, Experience Azaleas in Nine Cities” proved to be a major draw. During the holiday, 10,000 cups of azalea-themed beverages were distributed free of charge to visitors, often in short supply due to high demand. The city’s various flower-viewing destinations saw peak visitor flows, with nearly 80,000 tourists participating in flower-viewing tours. Among them, the East China Medicinal Botanical Garden saw a visitor increase of over 100% year-on-year, enhanced by themed activities such as pet interactions, flower garden tea talks, and hot air balloon rides. The Ten-Thousand-Mu Azalea Corridor in Chashuping Village, Gao Ping Township, Suichang, attracted over 20,000 tourists for mountain hiking and sightseeing. In Yunhe’s Shipu Ancient Town, the “Bloom Again” Creative Flower Fields drew more than 30,000 rural tourists with its enchanting floral landscapes.
In the central urban area, diverse and innovative consumption scenes stimulated new patterns of tourism spending. The Lishui Museum launched its first multi-scenario VR immersive exhibition, achieving a record-high single-day visitor volume. At the Qizi Tower Scenic Area, themed around “Exploring Qizi Tower During May Day”, Song Dynasty markets and theatrical performances attracted over 40,000 visitors in a single day. Ou River Cultural Courtyard hosted cultural bazaars and a free antique appraisal event, attracting numerous collectors. Additional offerings such as the Adventure Island Lawn Concert, historic alley strolls at Liu Citangbei, and the Chengxili Food Festival enriched the tourism product supply and met visitors’ diverse needs.
Lishui’s nine counties (cities and districts) integrated natural ecology, thousand-year cultural heritage, intangible cultural legacy, and modern creativity to create diversified immersive cultural tourism experiences. For example, Liandu brought together the Dazhangshu Market, Tongji Fair, and Dengke Elegant Gathering to form the “One City, Ten Markets” immersive themed activities, allowing visitors to explore local markets every day during the holiday. Qingyuan linked its covered bridge resources with scenic areas such as Baishanzu and Yueshan Village, launching covered bridge-themed routes like “Dreams of Covered Bridges”, and organized interactive intangible cultural heritage experiences such as bridge-crossing for blessings and bridge model building. Jingning She Ethnic Ancient Town hosted the grand “Princess Parade”, which included processional performances, bonfire celebrations, traditional craft experiences, and She-style afternoon tea, offering visitors an unforgettable cultural journey into She ethnic customs.
The free expressway toll policy and open-access parking further boosted the popularity of self-driving tours in Lishui. Statistics show that over 88% of visitors arrived by self-driving, with platforms such as Ant Explorer organizing over 9,350 off-road vehicles and 23,600 people for mountainous driving tours. Car clubs from Shanghai, Nanjing, and Wuxi formed the core visitor group.
Cultural experiences and diversified activities also energized inbound tourism. Public security data revealed a 17.9% year-on-year increase in foreign visitors to Lishui during the May Day holiday. In Longquan’s Baoxi Town, themed around “Endless Kiln Fire”, a cultural journey from clay to art attracted international students from Africa and Europe to participate in pottery-making and sword-forging experiences. In Qingtian County, foreign and domestic tourists gathered to enjoy the Western-style long-table feast, savoring the unique charm of this overseas Chinese hometown.