The Department of Commerce of Hunan Province and the Development and Reform Commission of Hunan Province recently issued the Implementation Plan of Hunan Province on Fostering New Growth Drivers in Service Consumption (2026–2028). Targeting key sectors such as transportation services, domestic services, online audiovisual services, sojourn tourism services, automotive aftermarket services, and inbound consumption, as well as potential sectors including performance services, sports event services, and emotion and experience-oriented services, the plan calls for measures to further improve and expand service supply and unleash the potential of service consumption.

Hunan will develop transportation services to build an integrated transport and tourism system. Leveraging the resources of railways such as the Zhangjiajie-Jishou-Huaihua High-speed Railway and the Changde-Yiyang-Changsha High-speed Railway, Hunan will launch a series of premium tourism routes. With the Changsha-Shaoshan tourist train and the Changsha-Zhangjiajie loop tourist train on the schedule, Hunan is set to complete the renovation of 13 tourist trains by the end of 2027. Low-altitude tourism takeoff and landing facilities will be established in scenic areas including Zhangjiajie, Nanyue (Hengshan Mountain), Nanshan Mountain, Langshan Mountain, Fenghuang, Huitang, Mangshan Mountain, and Jiuyi Mountain, supporting low-altitude tourism consumption scenarios such as helicopter tours, hot air balloon experiences, and paragliding.

To develop domestic services and ensure a reliable supply system, Hunan will guide domestic service companies to transform from agency-based to employee-based model, cultivate a number of Hunan brands of domestic services, and support leading enterprises to advance cross-regional chain development. Hunan will comprehensively promote the application of the Ministry of Commerce's Domestic Service Credit Information Platform System, implementing the "one person, one code" certification system for domestic service practitioners. 

To develop online audiovisual services to establish an audiovisual content hub, Hunan will promote the deep integration of micro-dramas with cultural tourism, intangible cultural heritage, and brands, and encourage the creation of micro-drama works with Hunan characteristics, expanding service consumption through sector integration.

To develop health and wellness tourism sojourn destinations to enhance sojourn tourism services, Hunan will develop tourism sojourn products such as forest wellness, hot spring wellness, and traditional Chinese medicine wellness. Leveraging ecological resources in areas like Wuling Mountain, Xuefeng Mountain, and Luoxiao Mountain, Zhangjiajie, Xiangxi Prefecture, Huaihua, Chenzhou, Shaoyang, and Yiyang will be encouraged to construct sojourn health and wellness demonstration bases. Hunan will encourage the acquisition of existing commercial housing for conversion into sojourn rental apartments and health and wellness communities. Idle rural homesteads and houses will be legally revitalized to develop homestay clusters in greater western Hunan area, the areas around the Dongting Lake, and the southern Hunan area.

To develop automotive aftermarket services, Hunan will cultivate a new automotive consumption ecosystem. As a pilot city for the national automotive circulation and consumption reform, Zhuzhou will be supported to introduce internationally renowned automotive events. With the Hunan International Circuit as the core venue, the city will continuously host high-level domestic and international automotive events and regularly organize mass participation automotive events. Hunan will also plan and construct a number of RV camping bases leveraging resources such as the Xiangjiang Scenic Belt, Dongting Lake Wetland, and mountainous areas in Zhangjiajie.

To develop inbound consumption to optimize the international consumption environment, Hunan will optimize the procedures for the 240-hour visa-free transit service at Changsha and Zhangjiajie ports, facilitating online port visa operations throughout the entire process. By 2026, the number of departure tax-free stores will exceed 200 across the province. A number of influential international consumption clusters will be developed.

To create diverse performance consumption scenarios in the potential sectors, Hunan will develop Changsha into a regional performing arts center, introduce famous domestic and international music festivals and concerts, and set up "new performing arts spaces" for regular resident performances in scenic areas, commercial complexes, and historical blocks. Efforts will be made to actively bid to host and introduce international and national high-level events, and continuously develop self-owned IP events such as the "Xiangchao (Hunan Football League)," "Xiang BA (Hunan City Basketball League)," and "Longchao" (Hunan Dragon Boat Super League.) Old industrial buildings, historical and cultural blocks, and commercial complexes will be used to create immersive consumption spaces to cultivate a number of "immersive consumption demonstration sites."

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.
 
Translator: Pang Yuehui
 
Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn