On the banks of the Haihe River in September, the 100,000-square-meter exhibition hall of Tianjin Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center was packed with people. The 2026 China Cultural Tourism Industry Expo is being held here. 2,540 exhibiting companies from 20 countries and regions and 30 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) across the country have come with thousands of scenery.
On September 4, people in Tianjin bought ice cream made by robots. On the same day, the 2026 China Cultural Tourism Industry Expo ushered in a public open day, attracting many citizens and tourists to check in and immerse themselves in unlocking new diverse cultural and tourism experiences. Photo by reporter Tong Yu
Reach: A pair of glasses can reach thousands of miles.
A silver-haired old man put on VR glasses, and after a few seconds the corner of his mouth raised: "It's like sitting on a dragon boat!" The young man put on the VR headset, put on the exoskeleton device, and subconsciously took a step. He was already "standing" in the small western-style building block on Tianjin's Fifth Avenue; the little girl stood on tiptoes in front of the "Digital Forbidden City" scroll, stretched out her hand to touch it, and the cultural relics slowly spread out on her fingertips...
Entering the exhibition hall, from VR dragon boat racing to humanoid robot band performances, from robot horses simulating mountain roads to robot "chefs" making pancakes on the spot, technology is no longer a cold code, but a ticket to "poetry and distance".
In the Jiangsu exhibition area, the AI intelligent companion robot "Hu Xiaoxuan" was surrounded by children; a few steps away, the elegant tune of the Kunqu Opera "The Peony Pavilion" sounded softly. Digital light and shadow competed with Six Hundred Years of Elegant Rhythm on the same stage. The young audience looked back and forth between the two. Some people just took off their VR glasses and were hooked by the singing.
The imagination of "Cultural Tourism +" is opened at this moment. The industrial tourism sector made its debut for the first time, and those once-roaring workshops and silent gears turned into popular check-in destinations. "Cultural tourism + rural", "cultural tourism + health care", "cultural tourism + study" and other business formats are competing to debut. Immersive experience, digital smart cultural tourism, urban micro-vacation... new trends are intertwined here.
On September 4, people in Tianjin experienced an immersive VR motorcycle ride. On the same day, the 2026 China Cultural Tourism Industry Expo ushered in a public open day, attracting many citizens and tourists to check in and immerse themselves in unlocking new diverse cultural and tourism experiences. Photo by reporter Tong Yu
Precipitation: In a furnace of incense, time stops slowly
If technology speeds up cultural tourism, humanities are responsible for "blank space" for life.
Deep in the exhibition hall, the exhibition area of Rongcheng Group makes people slow down unconsciously. In the 300-square-meter space, there are no dazzling large screens or ear-splitting speakers. Five groups of circular exhibition areas create a quiet movement. The audience moves forward step by step, as if entering the home of an old friend.
In front of the blue coffee bar, 1895c basketball coffee was steaming. A middle-aged man took a sip and said: "Sports and coffee are an unexpected match." In the Huiwan workshop, visitors kneaded fragrant mud and mixed medicinal beads, and their fingertips were filled with the smell of vegetation. A young girl completed her first incense card under the guidance of a craftsman. She raised it to the tip of her nose and sniffed it, smiling so hard that her eyes turned into crescents: "This is much more interesting than buying ready-made ones. The palms of your hands are all fragrant."
In the center of the exhibition area, the "Thousands of Thousand Threads" art installation fell quietly. Representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage such as lacquer, copper seals, and thangkas are immersed in their creations. There are many onlookers, but they are surprisingly quiet. An old gentleman sighed in a low voice: "Good things are not afraid of slowness. Look at this paint, it is applied layer by layer. There is no rush."
In the memory of the times exhibition area, the intangible cultural heritage boxes are arranged like small blind boxes; in the agricultural, food and health exhibition area, the black soil germ rice is piled up into a pale golden wall, with plump grains, like short poems written by the earth to the world. The staff said that what they want to present is not the exhibits, but what life is like. "Hold a warm cup of medicinal and food-derived drink in the palm of your hand, and the residual warmth of the fragrant mud is still left on your fingertips, and the appearance of life becomes clear."
On September 4, in Tianjin, people stopped at the exhibition area of Rongcheng Group to experience medicinal and edible drinks and intangible cultural heritage products. On the same day, the 2026 China Cultural Tourism Industry Expo ushered in a public open day, attracting many citizens and tourists to check in and immerse themselves in unlocking new diverse cultural and tourism experiences. Photo by reporter Tong Yu
Place: Fireworks in the world are the most soothing to the human heart
In the Sichuan exhibition area, the "Easy Panda" who transformed into the "Chief Vacation Approval Officer" was surrounded by the crowd, and the "leave approval note" on the spot attracted bursts of laughter; in front of the Xinjiang booth, cultural and creative silk scarves with complicated colors were snapped up as soon as they were put on the shelves; in the Zhejiang exhibition area, young people rushed to experience the latest interactive equipment, and exclamations came one after another. An expo is about looking at industry, but tasting life.
During this expo, the 2026 Tianjin Autumn Cultural Tourism Activities Release, the 6th Tianjin Binhai International Micro Film Festival, the "Small but Beautiful" Scenario Operation Innovation Conference, the International Travel Agents Conference, and the Cultural Tourism Industry Supply and Demand Matchmaking Conference were launched one after another. From exhibitions to negotiations, from content to scenes, a complete cultural tourism ecological chain is accelerating its development.
Technology extends the pace, and humanity settles the mind. When "speed up" and "blank space" intersect here, cultural tourism is no longer just about "looking elsewhere", but also "returning to life itself".
As the theme of this expo says - "Deepen the integration of culture and tourism, create a better life with wisdom." A good life may be hidden in that cup of coffee, in that fragrant pill kneaded by one's own hands, and between every departure and arrival. (over)
