Themed "Yanling Peaches: A Cool Summer Delight," the 4th Yanling Yellow Peach Cultural Season concluded recently. Over the one-month yellow peach sales period, Yanling County received a total of nearly two million tourist visits, a year-on-year increase of 8.2%. The total tourism spending reached 136 million CNY, up 8.0% from a year earlier.

This year's Yanling Yellow Peach Cultural Season was deeply integrated with the 2026 Hunan Rural Cultural Tourism Festival and the Hunan Alpine Summer Retreat and Wellness Season. Coincided with the peak season for Yanling yellow peaches, the cultural season adopted a model of "kicking off with a provincial-level launch ceremony and rolling out various events across multiple locations throughout the region," thereby seamlessly combining concentrated promotional efforts with ongoing experiential activities. During the event, three premium fruit‑picking travel routes were highlighted, with the themes of "Tracing Ancestral Roots and Blessing for Wellness," "Staying True to Original Aspiration and Passing on Revolutionary Traditions," and "Gazing at the Stars and Hiking Adventures." These routes integrated yellow peach picking with ancestral worship, red study tours, and summer wellness retreats, fully showcasing Yanling's diverse cultural and tourism resources—its ancient heritage, revolutionary history, green ecology, and vibrant folk traditions

During the event, "mountain breeze" concerts were held at Yunshang Dayuan Scenic Area and Shennong Valley National Forest Park, with professional bands, folk singers, and local music talents taking turns to perform. Fun interactive segments were also arranged, such as a "Name That Tune" game, prize quizzes on culture and tourism knowledge, and lucky draws for homestay vouchers, creating a relaxed and pleasant audio-visual atmosphere.

These events have boosted visitor numbers at scenic spots and spurred a comprehensive upgrade in the quality of rural homestays and specialty dining. The Emperor Yan's Mausoleum and Yunshang Dayuan Scenic Area received an average of more than 2,800 visits per day, while Shennong Valley National Forest Park drew over 3,800 per day. Major homestay clusters across the county maintained high occupancy rates during summer, averaging over 90% and reaching 100% on peak days, with boutique homestays in particularly high demand.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn