As a core part of the 2026 Hunan International Cultural Tourism Festival, a delegation of tour operators from Canada, France, Russia, and other countries and regions visited Changde Hejie Street and Taohuayuan Scenic Area, experiencing firsthand the unique charm of the Changde Section in the Greater Zhangjiajie International Tourism Area amid the hustle and bustle of daily life and poetic pastoral scenery.

On the evening of November 10, the delegation arrived at Changde Hejie Street for an immersive night tour. Along the banks of the Chuanzi River, the lights were reflected in the rippling water, while steam rose from the Leicha stalls on Mayang Street. The tour operators strolled along bluestone-paved walkways, listening to the tour guide's explanations of the block's culture while pausing to take photos. They savored the distinctive allure of Changde's night tour amid the lively local atmosphere. The following morning, the delegation headed to the Taohuayuan Scenic Area. They took a boat upstream along the Qinxi Stream, sampled the local specialty Leicha, admired natural landscapes, and visited iconic landmarks such as Taohua Mountain and Taoyuan Mountain, immersing themselves in the area's thousand-year-old cultural heritage.

Changde's unique lake and mountain scenery and immersive folk culture experiences left a deep impression on the tour operators who had come from afar. "Changde Hejie Street is full of vibrant local life, and the Taohuayuan Scenic Area is deeply poetic. We'd love to bring Canadian tourists here to experience the distinctive cuisine and cultural charm," remarked a tour operator from Canada.

It is reported that at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Hunan International Cultural Tourism Festival held recently, the second batch of premium inbound tourism routes for the Greater Zhangjiajie International Tourism Area was officially released. These routes connect the natural landscape resources and intangible cultural heritage features of Zhangjiajie, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Huaihua, Shaoyang, and Changde, making a shift from single-attraction promotion to coordinated cross-regional itinerary products, thereby further enriching travel options for overseas tourists visiting Hunan.

The tour operators' visit serves as an important opportunity for Changde to showcase its cultural tourism resources and connect with the international tourist source market. Moving forward, Changde will continue to optimize its supporting system for inbound tourism services, transform its resource advantages into competitive strengths in the international market, and attract more overseas visitors to experience the unique charm of Changde, known as "the city in the Peach Blossom Land."

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

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: changde.gov.cn