Turn "unexpected" scenery into a "expected" travel experience
"Travel according to the weather" has become a new trend in cultural tourism
From the sunrise in the sea of clouds in Huashan Mountain, the light and shadow of the Qinling Canyon, to the Buddha's light in the sea of clouds in Mount Jiuhua, and the golden mountain in Shangri-La; from the starry sky in the Ningxia desert and the clear snow in Helan, to the sea of flowers in Weinan and the white tea garden in Fuding... During the National Day holiday, many tourists followed the official weather travel guide and rushed to their favorite "chasing autumn" places.
On September 22, the China Meteorological Administration released the "2026 National Autumn Appreciation Guide" and the "Golden Autumn Morning Glow and Sunset Appreciation Map", covering suitable areas for autumn appreciation in 19 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) and 33 morning glow and sunset viewing spots in 27 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), providing refined meteorological services for the public's autumn travel.
On September 29, the Fourth Meteorological Tourism Development Conference released the "National Meteorological Tourism High-Quality Development Report". The China Meteorological Administration and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism launched 10 ice and snow tourism routes, 26 good places for cold escape and health, 59 suitable places for stargazing, etc., covering nearly 400 high-quality meteorological tourism resource areas across the country, and announced 42 innovative cases of integrated development of meteorological, cultural and tourism.
Meteorological services have turned the scenery that is "randomly encountered but not sought" into a new travel experience that is "randomly encountered and expected", and "traveling with the weather" has become a new trend in cultural tourism.
Liang Sai, director of the Department of Tourism at Nankai University, analyzed that from the perspective of market trends, the cultural tourism industry has gradually moved from a "tourism economy" to a "scenery-seeking economy."
Meteorological resources have increasingly become a growth point for tourism consumption. Many places have seized on the new trend of "meteorology + cultural tourism" and held a "Good Scenery Promotion Conference" at the Fourth Meteorological Tourism Development Conference.
"Ningxia combines deserts, Yellow Rivers, mountains, oases and wetlands. It has a typical continental climate, with dry air and a large temperature difference between day and night. The Northeast has more than 300 days of sunny weather throughout the year and almost no light pollution, so it is called the 'Hometown of the Stars.'" said Zhao Liang, full-time deputy secretary of the Meteorological Service Center of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
As early as 2021, the Ningxia Meteorological Department carried out a climate suitability assessment for stargazing in Ningxia, comprehensively considering the impact of the five factors of cloud cover, light pollution, visibility, atmospheric seeing, and human comfort on stargazing. By analyzing meteorological data over the past 40 years, a comprehensive evaluation index, model and standard for stargazing climate suitability was constructed to obtain the evaluation results. It also conducted a detailed analysis and evaluation of the spatiotemporal characteristics of stargazing climate suitability in various parts of Ningxia, and launched the annual, quarterly and monthly best stargazing lists. The meteorological department will also release stargazing weather forecasts for the coming week every week to provide tourists with a "stargazing guide."
Not long ago, the fourth Ningxia Starry Sky Tourism Season opened in Yinchuan City. During the event, the Ningxia Starry Sky Tourism Meteorological Digital Service Product jointly developed by the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Meteorological Bureau and the Autonomous Region Culture and Tourism Department was officially released, accurately meeting the public’s diversified needs in stargazing, astronomical photography, night leisure travel, etc., providing scientific and professional travel reference, and bringing the public a new cultural and tourism service experience that “makes stargazing predictable and travel smarter”.
Yunnan Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture has 118 snow-capped mountains with an altitude of more than 5,000 meters, including Meili Snow Mountain, Baima Snow Mountain, and Haba Snow Mountain. It is a veritable world of snow mountains. Under the influence of high altitude and climate, Meili Snow Mountain is shrouded in snow and clouds all year round. The rare "Rizhao Jinshan" landscape often occurs in the early morning on a sunny day. After the sun rises, the golden light spreads downward from the top of Kawagebo Peak. The whole process lasts for about 20 minutes.
Many tourists share their check-in strategies for "Rizhao Jinshan" on social media. The local meteorological department has deeply explored the scenic value of Meili Snow Mountain's "Rizhao Jinshan" and issued viewing advice reports and route risk products. Safety accidents involving meteorological factors in key scenic spots have dropped significantly, and cable cars can be suspended in time according to weather warnings.
In recent years, the meteorological department has continued to improve its ability to provide tourism safety meteorological services and build a three-dimensional tourism meteorological monitoring network. Zhu Xiaoxiang, director of the Public Meteorological Service Center of the China Meteorological Administration, said that currently, 425 meteorological observation stations have been deployed in 228 5A-level scenic spots across the country. This year, 612 observation stations have been deployed in high-risk scenic spots involving mountains and rivers to provide refined forecasts for 3A-level and above tourist attractions. A total of early warning information has been pushed to 660,000 tour guides, and tourism meteorological disaster risk early warning services have been developed.
Cao Xiaozhong, deputy director of the China Meteorological Administration, pointed out that meteorology is the most dynamic background of mountains and rivers, and is also an indispensable core production factor for the cultural tourism industry. Currently, "weather + cultural tourism" is expanding from a single weather forecast to a full range of security escorts, landscape exploration, and intelligent services.
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Li Si
