China News Service, Hefei, November 4th. Title: Awakening "sleeping assets" China's cultural tourism industry wants to grow in the existing space
China News Service reporter Zhang Qiang
On November 4, the 48th quality project exchange and docking event of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Industrial Project Service Platform and the Anhui (Hefei) cultural tourism industry chain docking event were held in Hefei, with the theme of "Inventory Revitalization".
On the stage, heads of Anhui's natural resources, cultural tourism, finance and other departments took turns to interpret the policies; off the stage, more than a hundred cultural tourism companies, fund companies and project owners were connected on-site. In front of them are old factories, idle scenic spots and inefficient parks that are in urgent need of "awakening".
As China's cultural tourism industry shifts from rapid expansion to quality and efficiency improvement, "seeking space from stock and seeking benefits from idleness" has become a must-answer question. According to Gu Kewei, deputy director of the Industrial Development Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, China's cultural tourism industry currently has "sufficient supply, new business formats, hot markets, and strong consumption." Revitalizing the stock and improving efficiency is the key to unleashing the potential of domestic demand.
How to wake up sleeping assets? The first pass is "earth".
"I'm afraid that the signing of the contract will be very lively, but it will be stuck when it is implemented." Pang Chong, deputy director of the Land and Spatial Planning Bureau of the Ministry of Natural Resources, said that the natural resources department "definitely cannot just stay in the approval process and say yes or no." Relying on the "one map" of land and spatial planning, projects can figure out "where to implement, how to achieve low cost, and how to achieve high benefits" at the beginning of planning.
In recent years, the planning departments of Anhui's 16 districts and cities have focused on creating attractive spaces and included 153 cultural tourism projects in the planning space; this year, 159 new cultural tourism projects were included in the land space planning.
On the same day, Wang Hui, deputy director of the Anhui Provincial Department of Natural Resources, explained the province's relevant policies at the meeting. He said that in Anhui, the use of existing land to develop cultural tourism can enjoy a transitional period of up to 5 years, during which there is no need to change the planning and land use entities. Land supply that meets the conditions can be negotiated and there is no need to go through the bidding, auction, and bidding process; multiple scattered small plots can be "packed" into the same land, and multi-category resources such as land, minerals, and forests can also be supplied in combination.
Hechai 1972 Cultural and Creative Park in Baohe District, Hefei, was formerly an old diesel engine factory area with scattered layout and fragmented ownership, covering an area of 1,520 acres. The local government reworked a detailed plan and positioned it as a comprehensive area for science, technology, culture and creativity. It purchased and stored 333 acres of core factory buildings in batches, and clarified the land supply conditions of "all self-sustaining and overall operation". Today, the workshop that used to be filled with roaring machines has become a cultural and creative space where young people compete to check in.
If the land use policy builds a solid spatial foundation, financial support attracts capital flow.
In May 2025, the People's Bank of China established a special loan of 500 billion yuan (RMB, the same below) to serve consumption and elderly care, including cultural tourism as a key area; for qualified loans, the government will also provide a 1% interest discount. In Anhui, special products such as fireworks loans, Huiyi loans, intangible cultural heritage loans, and credit tourism loans have become a matrix. 4A and 5A scenic spots and qualified supporting hotels can also be used as underlying assets to declare real estate investment trust funds in the field of infrastructure.
Wujiangzhai in Guizhou was affected by factors such as lack of funds and was included in the list of idle and inefficient tourism projects in the province in 2021. The turnaround comes from a syndicated loan of 1.4 billion yuan. In March 2024, the scenic spot will complete all revitalization work.
"Project revitalization, operation is the core." According to Chen Yi, chairman of Guizhou Guiyao Tourism Development and Investment Co., Ltd., another secret of Wujiang Village is to "separate the three rights" of ownership, management and operation rights of the scenic spot, introduce a professional operation team, and use the "government + company + cooperative + farmer" model to drive 180 households and 681 people to increase their income nearby.
In the Memory Park in the eastern suburbs of Chengdu, old industrial remains are also being transformed into an "industrial show belt." Yang Sheng, the person in charge of the park operator, said that at present, the channels for overseas funds to participate in domestic cultural tourism investment have been smoothed, and only foreign investment registration needs to be completed. The park is simultaneously exploring the overseas expansion of cultural tourism brands and the introduction of overseas medium and long-term funds.
From old factories to new parks, from idle scenic spots to consumer landmarks, an "organic renewal" of existing cultural tourism resources is unfolding across the country. Industry insiders believe that revitalizing the stock of cultural tourism resources is not a "rush". How to avoid homogenization and prevent "emphasis on construction over operations" is still a growing worry.
