Revitalizing the characteristic boat culture: Many places in Yunnan continue to deepen county cultural tourism consumption

As the country's policies on county economies continue to deepen, county cultural tourism consumption is becoming a new channel for rural resources to achieve premium value-added transformation. Many places across the country also rely on the ecological resources of rivers and lakes to revitalize their unique boat culture and strengthen the integration of culture and tourism.

Blue water and blue sky pig trough boat

The middle reaches of the painting on Lugu Lake

Let’s follow the camera and start sailing from the pig trough boat in Lugu Lake, a plateau lake, for a boating trip.

Ciren Duoji, President of Lijiang Lugu Lake Mosuo Culture Research Association: In the past, we mainly used pig trough boats for fishing, and we also relied on pig trough boats when we needed to transport supplies. After young people fall in love with each other, they will row a boat to meet their beloved girl. Pig trough boats are very versatile. After the development of tourism, we transformed the pig trough boat into a larger and more spacious style. Lakeside residents took tourists on the boat to enjoy the scenery of the lake and mountains.

While boating, you can also encounter the unique wave-leaf sea cauliflower of Lugu Lake unexpectedly. Now, it is the peak blooming period of the sea cauliflower. A pig trough boat is passing through the sea of ​​flowers on the water. The clear lake water supports the dots of white flowers. It looks plain from a distance and delicate up close.

A lake with clear water attracts visitors. Relying on the unique lake scenery resources of Lugu Lake, the lakeside cultural tourism industry continues to update. When coming to the shore, tourists can ride horses or walk along the plank road to experience the beauty of Lugu Lake from multiple angles.

Continue walking along the shore. If you are tired, you might as well stop in the cafe and taste a cup of local specialty coffee. The coffee is cleverly blended with local ingredients such as yak ghee, highland barley flour, and saffron. A cup of Lugu Lake's special blend has a mellow aroma with the unique flavor of the plateau.

After a leisurely lakeside afternoon tea, you can also take a float parade and enjoy different lakeside scenery along the way. Before night falls, walk into the Mosuo people's grandmother's house and experience up close the matrilineal family culture that has lasted for thousands of years.

Thanks to this landscape, the local people turned the natural gifts into the driving force for development, and the days became more and more prosperous. In 2025, Lijiang's Lugu Lake Scenic Area will receive 1.562 million tourists, a year-on-year increase of 10.72%. As of now, more than 2,000 people in 10 villages along the lake are directly engaged in tourism, and the per capita annual income of villagers has reached 28,000 yuan.

Enjoy the ten thousand acres of lotus pond

Yiye Xiaozhou activates hydrophilic cultural tourism consumption

Saying goodbye to the pig trough boat that carries Mosuo memories in Lugu Lake, we continued boating and came to Puzhehei, a picturesque place in Qiubei County, Yunnan. The light-shaped willow leaf boat is a unique water symbol here. There is also a lake with clear water and a unique boat, creating another water-friendly cultural tourism experience.

Peng Zhengyao, a staff member of the Qiubei Puzhehei Provincial Nature Reserve Management Bureau: Initially, the villagers living here wanted to fish and travel on the water, so they designed the willow leaf boat based on the shape of the lotus leaves before they were in full bloom. Later, small boats were gradually used for tourism and transporting passengers. With the development now, light curtains have been installed on the boats. When tourists take a boat trip, they are surrounded by mountains and rivers, adding an atmosphere like an ink painting. We also moved the afternoon tea to the boat, where you can enjoy afternoon tea at the table, taste local specialty cakes, and watch lotus flowers.

After admiring the ink landscape and the lake full of lotus colors, Pu Zhehei has a more dynamic side. Riding the willow boat, you can also encounter a water fight on a narrow road. Tourists hold buckets, water ladles, water guns and other equipment to start a hearty water duel on the blue waves.

This carefree and unrecognizable enjoyment also extends to the shore. In the lakeside villages, many tourists come for the lotus feast. The lotus leaf chicken is tender and fall off the bone, the fried lotus flowers are crispy and delicious, and the taste of the lotus pond is unforgettable.

After savoring the taste, the intangible cultural heritage handicraft experience adds more cultural connotation to the lakeside trip. Yang Xiaoli, a post-90s girl with a cheerful personality, was so moved by Puzhehei’s lakes and mountains and the local culture that she chose to stop and take root here and open an intangible cultural heritage handicraft workshop.

A clear water and a small boat continue to activate water consumption, radiating and driving the entire chain of business formats such as B&B, catering, and cultural and creative industries. From the peak daily passenger flow of 32,000 people in the summer, and the highest occupancy rate of B&Bs exceeding 98%, to this summer a total of nearly 3 million people have visited here; 50,000 travelers have chosen to settle here, more than 2,000 merchants have set up operations, and 18,300 people have found local employment... Between the mountains and rivers, Puzhehei's cultural tourism is continuing to develop and improve.

Go rafting on the grass rafting and explore ancient methods of papermaking

Unlock immersive cultural travel experience

The third stop of the rafting trip is the Beihai Wetland in Tengchong, Yunnan. The unique grass rows here are transforming into a new scene for cultural tourism experience.

On the Beihai Wetland, plant roots accumulated over the years are entangled layer by layer, forming natural grass rows floating on the lake. The structure is dense and has a certain bearing capacity, and people standing on it will not sink. In ancient times, local people had the tradition of "cutting grass to make boats". People cut grass rafts into pieces and used them as rafts to catch fish and crabs on the lake. This unique production and lifestyle has also become a vivid humanistic memory of the Beihai Wetland.

In order to protect the ecological environment of the wetland, the traditional method of "cutting grass to make boats" has been withdrawn from the lake, and has been replaced by artificially cultivated grass rows. This ancient water memory can be continued while maintaining the ecological bottom line.

In addition to rafting, the ancient fish trap experience in the shallow waters is also very popular. The bamboo cover is volleyed into the water, and the water splashes. Adults and children go into the water together to experience the wild joy of fishing, and the distance between people and nature is shortened through the interaction with the water.

On the shore, the Tengchong ancient papermaking workshop is equally lively. After soaking, pulping, papermaking, and drying, the bark transforms into pieces of Tengchong rice paper with a warm texture. Visitors can pick up the paper curtains with their own hands, experience the whole process of papermaking, and experience this traditional craft that has been passed down for thousands of years up close.

This summer, Beihai Wetland also innovatively launched the Xu Xiake NPC real-life interaction. Visitors can meet the actors unexpectedly while walking on the wetland plank road. Continuously enriching experiences make cultural tourism full of vitality.

Data shows that since July this year, the Beihai Wetland Scenic Area has attracted more than 150,000 tourists. Good environment, good ecology, and good experience have also allowed Tengchong City to continue to release the tourism effect in the entire region. Currently, an average of about 80,000 people live in Tengchong every day, with an average stay of 150 days.