In early winter, southern Anhui becomes nature's most vibrant palette—everywhere is dynamic, and every scene is picturesque. 

A provincial conference on high-quality development of all-for-one tourism was held recently in Yixian County, drawing widespread attention to this small southern Anhui city. As a significant cradle of rural tourism in China, the choice to restart the journey from Yixian County reflects a deliberate effort to build on past experiences while looking toward the future. The goal is to fully develop cultural and tourism industries into pillar, livelihood, and happiness-enhancing sectors.  

Yixian County, a nationally renowned historical and cultural city, boasts numerous ancient towns, villages, and residential buildings. It was precisely these ancient villages and dwellings that laid the foundation for Yixian County's gradual development of rural tourism.   

Forty years ago, student sketching activities began in Xidi Village, Yixian County. Thirty years ago, the first rural homestay emerged in Xidi Village. 

The mountains remain the same, and the villages are unchanged. Yet, with a shift in perspective, the niche segments of rural tourism in Yixian County gradually took shape.

Since 2006, Yixian County has collaborated with national professional associations to host two flagship events annually: a bicycle open race and an international rural photography exhibition. These events have attracted nearly 20,000 athletes from over 50 countries and exhibited more than one million works from over 20 countries. Cumulatively, they have drawn 450,000 visitors for observation and tourism.

According to the latest statistics from Yixian County, the county now boasts six sketching base clusters, comprising 112 individual bases. Hongcun Village and Xidi Village have become two of China's top ten sketching bases, partnering with over a thousand institutions, including universities and art studios. The annual number of visitors exceeds 1.2 million, generating total comprehensive revenue of 500 million yuan. 

Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect is the Huizhou-style homestays. These lodgings, "born" in the wild and "nurtured" in old houses, have grown to 1,070 in number, accounting for one-sixth of the provincial total. They feature six themes: retro experiences, family-friendly leisure, residential culture, landscape vacations, rural idle living, and countryside lifestyle. From January to September this year, these homestays hosted 3.022 million overnight visitors, with an average occupancy rate of 78%.

Unswervingly embracing the "new cultural and tourism cycle" has infused Yixian County's rural tourism with a more vibrant spirit and a more diverse arena. One-quarter of the county's workforce is now engaged in the cultural and tourism industry. From January to September this year, Yixian County received 18.124 million tourists, generating total tourism revenue of 17.64 billion yuan, representing year-on-year increases of 12% and 18.9%, respectively. 

In recent years, younger tourist groups, represented by Generation Z, have become the main force in cultural and tourism consumption. The impact of the intergenerational aesthetic divide and the demand for personalized experiences are compelling the cultural and tourism industry to upgrade from "factor competition" to "new quality productive forces."

Developing all-for-one tourism is a systematic project requiring high intelligence and emotional intelligence. As a renowned traditional tourism county, Yixian County is not content with being merely a "custodian of history" but actively transforms itself into a "translator of culture," "creator of scenarios," and "provider of emotional value," promoting the formation of new quality productive forces through "new cultural and tourism resources."

Yixian County has established a homestay industry association platform to coordinate resources from all sides, empowering homestays in areas such as product innovation, service upgrades, supply of amenities, financial credit, and marketing outreach. Over 140 types of "Yixian County Fine Products" have been listed on the homestay mall, and 15 green food companies have developed customized products for 300 homestays. In five villages, including Tachuan, Tankou, and Nanping, Yixian County is piloting the establishment of rural common growth platforms.  

Driven by these numerous co-creation and symbiotic platforms, Yixian County focuses on niche sectors, using cultural creativity, artistic design, and storytelling to revitalize traditional culture. This injects soul into more rural "affairs" and "objects," transforming them into attractive tourism products. 

Source: Anhui Daily