Restore the underlying business logic under the popular travel trend
作者｜Eva Liang 编辑｜Mos Wu
Taiyuan Twin Pagoda Temple
Image source: Shanxi Cultural Tourism Network
During this year's Dragon Boat Festival, Shanxi has become one of the popular destinations. According to the "2024 Dragon Boat Festival Holiday Travel Consumption Report" released by Tongcheng Travel, the popularity of ticket bookings for scenic spots in Shanxi has increased by more than 100% year-on-year, and the more popular scenic spots mainly include: Hanging Temple, Jinci Museum, Pingyao Ancient City, Yungang Grottoes, etc. Datong A-level scenic spot received a total of 306,000 people in 3 days, and was on the list of dark horse destination cities during the Dragon Boat Festival.
As early as the 30s of the 20th century, the famous Chinese architects Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin visited Shanxi four times to investigate and investigate ancient buildings. Today, 90 years later, more and more travelers are also heading to Shanxi to revisit the Lianglin Road and find the imprint of history in the ancient buildings.
So, what is the charm of "Ancient Construction Tour" that makes Shanxi and other tourist destinations become new Internet celebrities in the cultural tourism industry?
Catch the trend
"New Chinese" tourism continues to upgrade
This year, Jing Daily proposes a new perspective of "refinement" based on its insights into today's Chinese market, aiming to explore the significance of the concept of "refinement" rooted in Chinese culture in the current era, and the rise of "ancient construction tours" also echoes the concept of "exquisite China" proposed by Jing Daily - in the past two years, the public's attention and love for traditional Chinese culture has promoted "new Chinese style" to become a core trend, from fashion and beauty to catering and home, and now this trend is also blowing more and more in the tourism industry.
Tongcheng's travel data shows that during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday in 2024, various places have launched various "new Chinese" travel content that deeply experiences Chinese history and culture, and the popular "new Chinese" that young users pay attention to include history museum visits, dragon boat watching experiences, intangible cultural heritage experiences, historical and cultural scenic spots, Hanfu makeup experiences, etc. Among them, the consultation popularity of 2-4 hour intensive lecture groups and research groups in history museums around the country has increased by more than 2 times year-on-year.
On the one hand, the "14th Five-Year Plan" clearly proposes to promote the integrated development of culture and tourism, which has promoted the emergence of waves of hot spots for cultural and tourism integration. On the other hand, tourists' cultural self-confidence and desire to explore traditional culture are rising, and the "fancy and fancy" travel check-in cannot meet their needs. Intellectually, they crave a deeper understanding of culture; Sensually, they look forward to the emotional resonance that comes from sharing the bloodline of history. On the basis of grasping the "new Chinese" tourism trend, "Ancient Construction Tour" meets the further needs of tourists.
Ms. Chen, who came to Shanxi from Ningbo in June this year to visit the wooden pagoda in Yingxian County, shared her feelings with Jing Daily: "I have heard about the ancient architecture of Liang Lin, and I once listened to a volunteer teacher at the Beijing Museum of Ancient Architecture tell me about his experience of visiting this wooden pagoda. Walking back on Lianglin Road, the building itself and the history it contains brought me infinite emotion. ”
Ying County Wooden Tower
Image credit: Travel blogger @spider baobab
Many tourists, after visiting the ancient buildings, even lamented that they had "lost interest in museums". Because, unlike the cultural relics in the museum that are separated by a glass cover area, the simple and natural state of the ancient building makes it easier for visitors to resonate emotionally.
Xiaohongshu blogger @王逅逅 After a trip to Yuncheng, Shanxi Province in October last year, she described this "journey through time": "When you find the position of the ancients from literary works and stand on the footsteps of thousands of years ago, you can really feel his/her melancholy and excitement." And because it is not famous and difficult to find, it will not be disturbed by the modern environment, and you can quietly feel the imagination brought by the natural building itself. This note, titled "Shanxi, the most unearthly place in China", expresses the voices of many "ancient construction tour" lovers, and has received 14,000 likes.
Rejuvenation marketing
Weakens the sense of distance
Shanxi and Henan have a long history and rich tourism resources, but they have received little attention. In March last year, #山西为何存在感低# once appeared on a hot topic on Weibo, sparking discussions among netizens. On the one hand, this is inseparable from the lack of marketing communication and local tourism management. On the other hand, many tourists are worried that the tourism theme represented by ancient buildings has high requirements for knowledge reserves, and they can only "watch the excitement for the layman" when they go there, resulting in a poor experience.
Since last autumn, the cultural and tourism departments of Shanxi, Henan and Fujian have carried out a series of rejuvenation marketing with the help of social media, increasing the sense of presence while weakening the sense of distance. And if you want to attract more tourists, you have to let everyone know that the threshold is actually not high, and everyone can find a suitable way to open it.
The Shanxi Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and Xiaohongshu jointly launched the "Introduction Guide to Ancient Architecture" topic activity, using the stamp collection and check-in gameplay that young people are keen on at the moment to connect the routes of three provinces and nine cities. Visitors can get a free punch card book and learn knowledge in the process of playing. Netizens even spontaneously researched more ways to open it, such as creating emojis with photos of ancient buildings, and placing themselves in history for a spiritual healing...... These activities and activities provide visitors with more ways to explore the ancient buildings, even if they don't have enough knowledge. According to the Shanxi Evening News, Yuncheng has become an online celebrity check-in place, with searches on the site increasing by nearly 900% year-on-year.
Netizens even spontaneously researched more ways to open it, such as creating emojis with photos of ancient buildings, and placing themselves in history for a spiritual healing......
Image source: Xiaohongshu
Ancient buildings with a history of thousands of years inevitably make people feel far away, but ancient buildings with the temperature of "modern people" will not. In parallel with the above activities, the Shanxi Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism also launched the "Visiting Temple Keepers" activity, which tells the daily life of the profession of "temple keepers" and brings the stories of ancient buildings through their perspectives. Tourists are looking for temple keepers, chatting and interacting with them, and starting a deeper exploration. As of June, #探访守庙人# topics have reached 11.08 million views. The promotional video of "Ancient Building is a "Stupid" Thing" connects the "stupidity" of ancient architecture with the "stupidity" of the locals, giving the ancient building a "humanized" characteristic. This series of activities has turned Gu Jian into a kind and warm person, shortening the distance with tourists.
Xiaohongshu user @宁堂 @少年马达 @导演罗娜娜 visited the temple keepers.
Image source: Xiaohongshu
"Ancient architecture" is not only tourism, but also a way of life. Last month, Travelist released the theme activity of "Ancient Buildings Around You", inviting netizens to explore the ancient buildings around them, such as ancestral halls, temples, archways, and stone lions...... In every city, there are these "ancient buildings" that connect the past and the present. This activity combines "ancient architecture" with the current popular urban exploration activities, strengthens its connection with the daily life of the public, and at the same time enhances the public's awareness, and broadens the interest group of customers for the "ancient architecture tour".
Thanks to a series of younger marketing, more and more young people are joining Gujian Tourism, according to travel photography blogger Mo Morui's observation, the audience of "Gujian Tourism" accounts for more and more young people and students, who pay attention to the combination of local culture and tourism activities, and are keen to participate in check-in activities, consumption of cultural and creative products, etc.
After being out of the circle
How to take the next step?
"Gu Jianyou" has taken over as the new Internet celebrity in the cultural and tourism industry, but this is just the beginning.
The audience of "Ancient Tours" is looking for in-depth knowledge exploration, so their experience is directly linked to the quality of the information they receive. "However, there is a lot of 'information pollution' in many ancient sites in China." Yao, an architect from Yuncheng, Shanxi Province and the host of the urban culture podcast "Canned City", told Jing Daily, "In order to make the content sound more interesting, the tour guide will tell a lot of legends, which reduces the credibility of the overall content." The explanation of ancient buildings involves a lot of historical materials and documents, and the quality of the docents is required. Instead of using various stories to attract the public, it is better to enhance the depth and professionalism of the content, attract 'pan-professionals', and then use them as the core to radiate other tourists. ”
The surge in passenger traffic also means that there are higher requirements for local tourism reception capacity. There are many complaints on social media about "few hotels to choose from", "long queues at scenic spots" and "difficult parking" in these destinations. Marjorie Ma, who loves ancient tourism, said that she hopes to improve the supporting facilities and services. "Most of the historic sites are extremely scattered, and most of the time spent on the road is spent on the road. If you don't have a car, it's even more inconvenient to get around, so transportation between attractions needs to be improved. In addition, 'Ancient Architecture Tourism' can also have a more high-end experience, such as customized routes and services. ”
Mr. Wu, who drove from Shanghai to Shanxi during the Chinese New Year, said that Shanxi cultural tourism currently needs to strengthen the management of scenic spots. "Our tram owners have charging needs, and there are charging piles in the parking lot of the Pingyao Ancient City Visitor Center but we are refused to enter, and the charging piles in and around are all occupied by oil trucks. It is illegal for petrol trucks to occupy public charging spaces, but we contacted nearby staff but were not taken seriously. In addition, Mr. Wu also said that there is chaos inside and outside the scenic area, and some people even charge the so-called "toilet fee" in the ancient city of Pingyao. If the official management can't keep up with the traffic brought by marketing, the result may be counterproductive.
In addition to scenic spots, the importance of cultural and creative products cannot be ignored, which is not only an important component of the destination image, but also a medium for the communication of destination culture. Photographer Mo Morui added: "Cultural and creative products are a carrier that allows tourists to bring culture home, send it to relatives and friends, and spread the word and have a farther impact. Although both Shanxi and Henan have received a lot of praise on social media, Yao also has higher expectations: "Yuncheng itself has distinctive characteristics, but the cultural and creative products are currently highly homogeneous, and it is difficult to reflect their own characteristics." ”
Since the gradual recovery of tourism, one after another "Internet celebrities" have risen by relying on selling points such as food and natural scenery, but most of them have been short-lived. Yao believes that this is because they have not formed a complete "brand image" at the communication level, and the spectacle stimulation as a selling point is only a breakthrough, and its appeal is also decreasing day by day.
What is special about the "new Internet celebrity" ancient buildings is that they have a deep historical connotation, which not only coexists with the location, but also has a long-term impact on it, connecting the past and the present, architecture, nature and people. Therefore, the location of the ancient building itself has enough rich and diverse content to build a complete "brand image". If the "ancient builders" improve their reception capacity, improve the management system, and then give full play to the above-mentioned talents and abilities, they will have the opportunity to become popular from "new Internet celebrities".
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Jing Daily 中国区资深编辑
Mos Wu
After seven years of expertise in Chinese, Mos chose to enter the media industry to focus on luxury business reporting. Her coverage covers luxury fashion, beauty, jewellery and watches, sports and leisure, commercial real estate, lifestyle, fashion culture and other fields, and she has unique insights and interpretations of China's consumer culture, brand marketing and retail trends.