Hunan's Cultural and Tourism Achievements During 14th Five-Year Plan Period

In 2025, Hunan is expected to receive a total of 844 million tourist visits, with total tourist expenditure reaching 1.16 trillion yuan.

Over 80,000 public welfare performances are held annually on average. Nearly 1,500 new representative intangible cultural heritage items have been added, bringing the total number of entries across the four-tier list system to 6,824.

Remarkable archaeological achievements, a continuously growing "museum craze," and "provincial-municipal linkage" have revitalized the province's cultural heritage resources, making Hunan one of the nation's top ten cultural relic provinces.

On December 19, the Information Office of the Hunan Provincial People's Government held a press conference on Hunan's development of cultural and tourism industries during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period (2021-2025). Li Aiwu, deputy director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and Party secretary and director of the Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, announced a series of inspiring achievements.

Addressing Two "Integration Propositions" to Lead High-Quality Development

During his inspection tour of Hunan in March 2024, President Xi Jinping proposed two "integration propositions." Hunan has vigorously responded, deepening the integration of "culture + tourism" and embracing the soaring synergy of "culture + technology."

During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, Hunan proposed creating and continuously enhancing its "Five Calling Cards": stunning natural scenery, red or revolutionary culture, urban culture and leisure, historical heritage, and farming culture. Zhangjiajie‘s peak forest frequently appears on international landmarks and in Hollywood scenes. Shaoshan received an annual average of 5.02 million tourist visits during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, with an average annual comprehensive revenue of 5.4 billion yuan, both representing increases compared to the "13th Five-Year Plan" period. The reputation of Chengtoushan, known as "China's earliest city," continues to grow.

A number of dormant and idle resources have been awakened amid the wave of cultural and tourism integration. Changde Hejie River, based on historical stories, culture, sculptures, and architecture, has been developed into an ancient-style street integrating tourism, commerce, culture, and history. Since March last year, it has received 27.4651 million tourist visits and generated 1.934 billion yuan in revenue.

The rich and colorful ethnic minority cultures add a distinctive charm. Fenghuang Ancient Town has been elevated to a national 5A-level tourist attraction, with ethnic minority costumes becoming a top trend in travel photography. Shibadong Village has been honored as "Best Tourism Village" by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

The magic of technology makes profound culture more dazzling and accessible. The Hunan Museum's "The Art of Life: Multimedia Exhibition of Mawangdui," presented using new technological methods, has won international awards, including the "Star of Outstanding" Award from the Global Awards for World Heritage Education Innovative Cases.

After scientific data collection and processing, the previously indistinct cliff inscriptions at Wuxi Stele Forest are not only clearly legible but can also be authentically reproduced for scholarly research.

The Malanshan Video Cultural and Creative Industrial Park has attracted over 4,300 enterprises and 64,000 young talents, yielding thousands of scientific and technological innovations and successfully establishing itself as a national-level demonstration park.

The synergy of "culture + technology + tourism" has given rise to a series of new cultural and tourism scenarios, such as "We Were Young Students," "Taohuajiang Bamboo Sea Illusion," and "Twilight River Dance of Snowflakes," which are both steeped in heritage and fashionably romantic.

Leveraging the Hunan Tourism Development Conference to Drive Industrial Prosperity

From September 16 to 18, 2025, the 5th Hunan Tourism Development Conference was held in Huaihua City, yielding significant driving effects. During the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, the total number of visitors to monitored tourist areas in Huaihua City and the operating revenue of these areas increased by 143% and 94.8% year-on-year respectively, ranking first in the province in terms of growth rate.

Wherever the provincial tourism development conference is held, the host city experiences a "windfall of prosperity." Thirteen cities and one autonomous prefectures seize the opportunity akin to promote their cultural tourism resources, leading to the holding of a splendid array of municipal-level tourism development conferences.

Hosting the first Hunan Tourism Development Conference enabled Zhangjiajie, in addition to its unparalleled natural scenery, to build the 72 Unusual Houses, known as the world's tallest Tujia stilted building-style structure, and an ice and snow world and a metaverse experience hall. Zhangjiajie has become the premier choice for inbound tourism in Hunan, with inbound tourists covering 183 countries and regions. This has driven the province to receive over 6.23 million inbound tourist visits since the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, generating foreign exchange tourism revenue of 2.859 billion USD.

Chenzhou, host city of the second Hunan Tourism Development Conference, became the "backyard garden" for people in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Gaoyiling and Yuhou Street bustled with endless streams of visitors. In 2024, Chenzhou City received a total of 76.53 million tourist visits, with total cultural and tourism revenue exceeding 110 billion yuan.

Hengyang, host city of the third Hunan Tourism Development Conference, witnessed a dramatic transformation in its cultural and tourism scenes. The popularity of Hengshan Mountain remained consistently high, while the newly opened cultural and tourism projects at its foot of the mountain were equally vibrant. Nanyueli, the Zhurong Space Exploration Museum, and Suzhouwan Old Street became favorites among tourists.

Hosting the fourth Hunan Tourism Development Conference added considerable luster to Yueyang City. Two cultural and tourism performances, "Ascending Yueyang Tower" and "Dongting Illusion," debuted during the event, giving Dongting Lake and Yueyang Tower a more enchanting aspect. The Yueyang Tower Historical and Cultural Protection and Utilization Demonstration Area renovated 59 historical buildings and 118 traditional-style buildings, reviving memories of ancient Yueyang, and attracted a large number of residents and tourists on its opening day. During this year's National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, the city received a total of 4.381 million tourist visits, with total tourist expenditure reaching 5.055 billion yuan, both ranking third in the province.

New Technologies, New Expressions, and New Discoveries Bring Fresh Cultural Experiences

People have been nurtured by exquisite stage art through works like the dance drama "Ode to Hot-blooded Youth" which won the "Lotus Award". They experienced the joy of immersive dramas by watching new-format performances like "New Liu Hai Cuts Firewood" and "Nie Xiaoqian" which has the average attendance rate as high as 90%.  They also learned from representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage items, personally experiencing the difficulty and joy of embroidering Hunan embroidery works or making Tantou woodblock New Year paintings and  got up close to "touch" the splendid Hunan civilization through characteristic exhibitions and novel cultural creative products.

During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the province's cultural undertakings flourished, with stage art presenting new brilliance, public services improving in quality and efficiency, intangible cultural heritage inheritance integrating into daily life, and cultural relic resources being revitalized and utilized. The charm of culture has permeated throughout the province, nourishing millions of households.

Stage art is found not only in professional theaters but also by the ridges of fields and at the doorsteps of community residents. The province organizes over 80,000 public welfare performances annually on average, such as "Staging Opera Performances in the Countryside" and "Four Seasons Village Gala." In 2024, the per capita number of visits to cultural venues in the province reached 5.05 times, ranking among the top nationwide.

Nearly 1,500 new representative intangible cultural heritage items have been added, bringing the total number of entries across the four-tier list system to 6,824. A total of 435 intangible cultural heritage workshops have been cultivated, covering 95% of the province's counties and districts. Intangible cultural heritage not only inherits excellent traditional culture but also serves as a leverage to boost rural revitalization through numerous projects, such as the "Let Mom Go Home" public welfare project established based on Xiangxi Miao embroidery.

Efforts have been made to revitalize cultural relics, make history visible, and pass down cultural heritage. Implementing the "Six Major Projects" for cultural relic protection and utilization, the province has registered over 20,000 immovable cultural relics, holds over 2 million pieces/sets of movable cultural relics in museum collections, and has 205 registered museums. The total quantity of revolutionary cultural relic resources ranks first in the country, placing Hunan among the nation's top ten cultural relic provinces. The Fourth National Census of Cultural Relics is progressing steadily; as of November 2025, the province has newly discovered 5,278 immovable cultural relics, with a new discovery rate of 20.6%, both total number and discovery rate ranking among the top nationwide.

New technologies, new expressions, and new discoveries have opened up new horizons for the public's spiritual world, bringing richer and more diverse high-quality experiences.

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn