Dai Bin | A Tourism Powerhouse: Culture as the Leading Force - Special Comment on Labor Day Holidays Tourism in 2026

In 2026, Labor Day and Youth Day fall on the same day. Several provinces and cities have extended their spring holidays for consecutive days, bringing more dynamic, fashionable and cultural elements to the holiday tourism. During the holiday period, most regions across the country enjoyed pleasant weather and beautiful scenery. Cultural, artistic, intangible cultural heritage, folk literature and art, folk customs events, science and technology research and development, and sports events were all rich and colorful. The willingness of urban and rural residents to travel was high, and various indicators of the tourism market reached new historical highs. According to the official website of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the 2026 Labor Day holiday lasted for 5 days. The number of domestic tourists nationwide was 325 million, and the total domestic tourism expenditure was 185.492 billion yuan, both increasing by 3.6% and 2.9% respectively compared to the previous year. During the holiday, tourism safety, market order and tourism-related public opinions remained stable and improved. The national tourist satisfaction rate was 83.0 points, reaching the high level of "satisfaction" in history. Cultural tourism has driven emotional value, triggered emotional resonance, and cultivated national sentiments, becoming a new engine and field of the experience economy. The deep integration of culture and tourism has opened the curtain of the "15th Five-Year Plan" for building a tourism power.

Cultural Reimagining

Tourism Development Perspective

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "cultural confidence is a more fundamental, broader, and deeper confidence; it is the most basic, profound, and enduring force in the development of a country and a nation." Guided by Xi Jinping's thought on culture, China's outstanding traditional culture, revolutionary culture carrying the red gene, and advanced socialist culture are systematically shaping the tourism development perspective in the comprehensive development stage of mass tourism, and are also leading the innovative development of tourism during Labor Day holidays.

Excellent traditional culture has always been a key element in enhancing the tourism experience and visitor satisfaction, and it is also the foundation for shaping the image of a tourist destination, creating tourism routes, and improving tourism competitiveness. The Project to Explore the Origins of Chinese Civilization, the protection practice of the Liangzhu Ancient City Ruins, the successful application for World Heritage status of the Beijing Central Axis, and the construction of national cultural parks have endowed tourist destinations with profound cultural底蕴， and highlighted distinct cultural characteristics in tourism routes， tourism projects， and the tourism industry. World Heritage Sites， key national cultural heritage protection sites， archaeological heritage parks， museums， archives， cultural theme trails， and historical and cultural districts have become the most reliable background resources for the high-quality development of cultural tourism in various regions. Under the principle of prioritizing protection and rational utilization， countless cultural landmarks have always been the spatial carriers for the deep integration of culture and tourism， and have become the tourist scenes that attract tourists to linger and forget to leave， and are favored by the study tour and cultural tourism markets.

Tourism requires the support of elements such as food, accommodation, transportation, sightseeing, shopping, and entertainment. It also needs the broad participation in folk festivals and the in-depth experience of seasonal events to create an emotional resonance with the fertile land, long history, and hardworking people. This fosters a sense of national identity and a historical awareness of inter-ethnic exchange and integration—this is the original intention and essence of cultural and tourism integration. During holidays, those long-standing, widely participated, and spontaneously organized seasonal and folk festivals always manage to integrate excellent traditional culture naturally into contemporary life in a joyful atmosphere for both hosts and guests, becoming the most beautiful cultural landscape of the journey. Grain Rain, the last solar term of spring; Beginning of Summer, the first solar term of summer; and the following Lesser Fullness (Xiaoman), signifying the gradual filling of rivers and lakes, all carry five thousand years of civilization and the agricultural memories of our ancestors. From Qingming Festival and Labor Day to the Dragon Boat Festival, urban and rural residents offer sacrifices to the chariot, pray for silkworms, go on spring outings, and enjoy seasonal delicacies, making the most of spring's feast of beautiful scenery, rich culture, and delicious food. Nanjing has a long-standing tradition of celebrating the "Ox Head Mountain in Spring and Qixia Mountain in Autumn," drawing crowds from all over the city. Today, the "Grain Rain Festival" in Liping Dong Village, Guizhou; the "Flower Festival" in Xinzhou, Wuhan; the "Twelve Flower Goddesses" horseback parade in Qilian, Qinghai; the "Summer Mango Fragrance" in Changjiang, Hainan; the "Rao San Ling" festival at Yunnan Ethnic Village in Kunming; the Begonia Blossom Festival at the Five Avenues in Tianjin; and the Yangzhou Beauty Festival, which blends canal culture with the beauty of traditional costumes, all still embody the poetic imagery of "seeing mountains, seeing water, and remembering homesickness," and provide visitors from afar with a concrete understanding of traditional festivals.

Without the officials who collected poems during the Western Zhou Dynasty, we might not be able to appreciate the beautiful "Airs" in the Book of Songs today. For folk festivals to evolve from cultural elements of tourist destinations into widely disseminated cultural attractions that draw visitors, they need to be presented in the form of ethnic folk art. This also requires artists like Wang Luobin, Guo Song, and Yang Liping to immerse themselves in the deserts, grasslands, and fields. Such works cannot be bought with money or achieved by hiring a few internet celebrities. Only when the people and the land truly merge, and when they themselves want to sing, can excellent artistic works emerge and be transformed into high-quality tourism products. These works and products, disseminated through internet platforms, have taken center stage in contemporary tourism development as a new form of popular art. Springtime events such as "Village Galas," "Village Songs," "Village Super Shows," and "Village T-Shows," based on local culture, not only revitalize local cultural genes but also enrich the tourist experience. The Changshan War Drum "Zilong's Expedition" in Zhengding Ancient City, Shijiazhuang; the "March Festival" in Mouding, Chuxiong, Yunnan; the Dong Grand Song in Guizhou; the Korean Dance in Yanbian, Jilin; the Waist Drum in Yulin, Shaanxi; the Flower Drum Lantern in the Huai River Basin of Anhui; the Yingge Dance in Chaoshan, Guangdong; and the Dragon Boat Race in the Greater Bay Area are all exemplary models of the revitalization of ethnic and folk cultural heritage. The Munao Zongge performance, which returned twice during the holiday, attracted many tourists from as far away as Dehong, Yunnan, making Yingjiang a model of cultural and tourism integration during the holiday. It also allowed us to see the infinite possibilities of cultural and tourism integration in this early summer of May. When ethnic and folk arts become a way of life passed down through generations of local residents, and when tourists from other countries participate with a solemn rather than frivolous, sharing rather than disturbing attitude, the significance of cultural exchange and mutual learning in tourism can be highlighted, and the unpleasantness caused by physical conflicts during the Water Splashing Festival can be avoided. When local governments truly put the people-centered public culture concept into practice, and when investors and operators have a genuine reverence for ethnic and folk culture, and work together to create new cultural experience spaces that attract visitors from near and far, and new tourism consumption scenarios shared by both locals and tourists, they will avoid merely scratching the surface of culture and art, and will be able to break free from the predicament of imitation and plagiarism that leads to superficiality.

Transforming intangible cultural heritage (ICH) from cultural attractions into tourism spending power requires government coordination, collaborative efforts from cultural institutions and tourism enterprises, and the integration of its functional value into contemporary life and its emotional value through cultural creativity. In recent years, thanks to the institutional arrangements of "ICH workshops" and the growth of the Hanfu (traditional Han clothing) travel photography market, traditional embroidery and textile crafts such as Suzhou embroidery, Hangzhou silk gauze, Hunan embroidery, Northern Sichuan Qiang embroidery, Huangzhong pile embroidery, Fanshi Jin embroidery, and Shuanglin silk have found a realistic possibility of reintegrating into contemporary life. These ICH works and cultural products, carrying the memories of thousands of years of Chinese civilization, have encountered the world after the baptism of industrialization and commercial civilization in the new era of comprehensive development of mass tourism, encountering "Made in China" and "Chinese services," inadvertently opening a door to "traveling and shopping in China." Once these ICH works, possessing both handcrafted quality and historical depth, are transformed into tourism products integrating commemorative, experiential, and functional elements, they will greatly stimulate tourists' spontaneous purchasing enthusiasm, thus forming a traditional support for the modern tourism industry system. From the embroidery markets of Kaili in Guizhou, the bed sheet factory art district of Dali, the night market of Dunhuang, Taoxichuan in Jingdezhen, and the Shuyuanmen pedestrian street in Xi'an, to the Beishan Courtyard in Zhuhai, the Eighth Market in Xiamen, the Dong'er Market in Longhua, Shenzhen, and Xihongmen in Beijing, the entry of traditional intangible cultural heritage into rural markets and urban fairs has greatly enriched the spatial carriers of cultural and tourism integration, and is also subtly cultivating localized innovation entities. In fact, whether it's culture, art, commerce, sports, or tourism, what kind of integration and evolution doesn't rely on life, be tested by history, be driven by the times, and be shared by the people?

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Chinese-style modernization is a modernization that coordinates material and spiritual civilization. We must promote the excellent traditional Chinese culture, make good use of red culture, develop advanced socialist culture, and enrich the spiritual and cultural life of the people." Red culture is an advanced culture created and accumulated by the Communist Party of China in leading the Chinese people in the great practice of revolution, construction, and reform. It contains rich revolutionary spirit and profound historical and cultural connotations. Developing red tourism and inheriting and promoting red culture is a strategic direction for tourism development in the new era, as well as a value orientation for study tours and national education. When Labor Day meets Youth Day, holiday tourism resonates with the main theme of youth and struggle. Sichuan launched the "Striving Youth" tourism route connecting the Long March snow-capped mountains and nuclear industry bases, while young red tour guides in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, told tourists about the "Red Boat Spirit" in a flash mob format. Young people in Guizhou, Sichuan, Hebei, and other places actively participated in red tourism routes and experience projects such as "Red Fragrance: Reflecting the Original Aspiration," "Long March Monument: The Road of Struggle," and "Strategic Planning: The Flame of Taihang." During the holiday, many red tourism scenic spots and attractions, such as Li Dazhao's former residence in Beijing, the Square of Unknown Heroes in Xishan National Forest Park, the site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Shanghai, the Red Boat on Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing, Ruijin in Jiangxi, the starting point of the Long March in Yudu, the Yan'an Revolutionary Memorial Hall, the Memorial Hall of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army in Handan, the Memorial Hall of the New Fourth Army in Yancheng, the Xibaipo Memorial Hall, and the Shenyang Anti-American War Martyrs Cemetery, welcomed numerous visitors.

Classic red tourism performances such as "Ten Red Army Soldiers Sent Off," "Yan'an Nursery," "Hongze Lake 1942," "The Red Detachment of Women," and "Me and My Hong'an," along with newly created works like the immersive acrobatic drama "The Red Flag Flies Over the Presidential Palace" by the Nanjing Acrobatic Troupe, have brought red culture to life and integrated it into people's hearts. Young people are continuing the historical and cultural heritage through red-themed study tours, experiencing the tremendous changes in a powerful nation through science and technology industrial tours, and actively participating in holiday service and support through volunteer work. They are beginning to shift from "I've been there" and "I experienced it" to "I understand" and "I take responsibility." At this moment, the political, cultural, and ideological attributes of tourism have become tangible; contemporary tourism has become a spiritual journey concerning national identity and identity building. Tourism can provide tourists with diverse emotional values ​​and varied emotional resonance, and it can also cultivate a sense of national pride and patriotism in young people. The cultural and tourism system and the tourism industry must adhere to the core socialist values ​​to guide the development of cultural and tourism integration, allocating more energy and resources to the creation of excellent artistic works, the research and development of high-quality tourism products, and the improvement of services, while reducing various forms of influencer marketing, celebrity promotion, and hype. To promote high-quality development of the tourism industry, we must be vigilant against the overemphasis on traffic in the tourism development process in various regions, and we must never allow tourism to become a breeding ground for low-quality traffic.

Cultural enhancement

Tourism competitiveness

"Let's study the field of humanistic economics within this." "We should uphold an open and inclusive attitude, adhere to the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, inherit and develop the excellent traditional Chinese culture, promote the localization of foreign cultures, and continuously cultivate and create the new era Chinese socialist culture." Advanced socialist culture carries the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation and people's happiness, and is a force for China's modernization construction. It is also the value system that shapes the comprehensive development of mass tourism and the ideological impetus and spiritual strength for promoting high-quality tourism development and building a tourism power. Cities and rural areas need continuous cultural inheritance, and more importantly, they need continuous cultural creation. The wheels of history roll forward, and we always need to look forward, rather than always looking backward. Culture is like this, technology is like this, and tourism is like this as well. Many super projects, large scientific facilities, ecological environmental protection projects, and red tourist attractions from the revolutionary war era, together with the achievements of socialist construction, reform and opening up, and new era development and construction, form the red scenic line of holiday tourism.

The scientific and technological research and development institutions in the fields of advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and aerospace, along with their application of achievements, have become a new image of urban tourism. We witnessed the robot race marathon held simultaneously with humans in Yizhuang District of Beijing, the official operation of the unmanned AI bus in Qianhai of Shenzhen, robots patrolling the streets together with police, and the major scientific facilities such as the Tianfu Avenue in Chengdu, the "Science and Technology Spring Festival" in Hefei, the "Quantum Avenue" and the "Artificial Sun" in Hefei, all of which have become new images of urban tourism. We also saw that the post-90s and post-00s generations are becoming participants and innovative entrepreneurs in the era of artificial intelligence and new popular arts, and we also witnessed the beginning of a new era of deep integration of culture and tourism.

The creative achievements of stage arts, film and television works, literary innovation, and new forms of literature and art, as well as new popular arts, are becoming new driving forces for integrated development and entrepreneurial innovation. If the "golden decade" of inbound tourism in the 1980s benefited from the resource dividends of natural and cultural heritage, and the initial stage of mass tourism benefited from the existing stock dividends of the domestic market, then entering a new stage of comprehensive development of mass tourism and a new era of building a strong tourism nation, the high-quality development of the tourism industry must rely on new driving forces from science and technology and culture. If traditional scenic spots, theme parks, and tourism performances continue with the visual impact model of installations and ensemble performances, their business models will be unsustainable. To adapt to this change, the cultural and tourism system will launch a series of tourism-themed days and months in May under the theme "Enjoy Quality Tourism, Explore Beautiful Mountains and Rivers." Guangzhou, as the national main venue for "May 19th China Tourism Day," will create a cultural festival integrating Lingnan culture such as Guangdong music, Cantonese opera, and Yingge dance with modern light and shadow technology. Local governments at all levels and the tourism industry should promote integrated, ecological, and intelligent development, guided by high-quality and sustainable development principles. They must also uphold the new era's cultural mission of cultural confidence, openness and inclusiveness, and innovation while adhering to tradition, rather than allowing the tourism industry to merely cater to tourists' emotional consumption and entertainment needs without principle. Otherwise, where will we find a place for the ideals of "scholarly study tours, travel with a sense of national and global perspectives," and the sentiments of "for the better life of tourists, for the professional dignity of tourism workers"? How can we rediscover the classic values ​​of tourism and improve modern tourism? History has proven and will continue to prove that tourism without culture cannot go far, and a tourism industry without values ​​and principles cannot achieve significant heights.

In recent years, popular TV dramas such as *The Silent Glory*, *Eight Thousand Miles of Clouds and Moon*, *Wind and Tide*, and *A Peaceful Year* have attracted a large number of tourists to visit the filming locations and story settings. The best-selling success of excellent literary works such as *My Altay* and *The Right Bank of the Ergun River* has effectively enhanced the tourism appeal of ethnic minority areas like Altay and Ergun. The Cangzhou Wuqiao Acrobatic Fantasy City has effectively amplified the tourism effect of traditional folk arts. More mass sports events and cultural activities, such as the Jiangsu Super League, Hunan Super League, Zhejiang Basketball League, marathons, concerts, and performances, attract tourists from afar. Chengdu hosts more than three concerts daily, including symphony orchestras, ethnic music performances, and choral performances. It is worth noting that the art weeks initiated by private art museums such as the Luzhen A4 Art Museum, the drama week led by the Anaya Modern Art Museum, the "Four Landscapes" by the Thunder Dance Troupe, and the Nine People Drama and Contemporary Drama Biennale, among other experiments and explorations by modern art groups, have become successful practices in mass art education for citizens and tourists. The Anqing Ancient City Youth Drama Festival, which blends Huangmei Opera with modern drama, attracted 519,000 visitors during the holiday, allowing them to experience the cultural heritage of this renowned theatrical city. Influenced by these cultural institutions and art groups, various regions are beginning to cultivate new cultural landmarks, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Once these new cultural landmarks are established, they will exert a disruptive influence on traditional tourism resources that is difficult to overcome in the short term, a phenomenon that cannot be ignored.

Culture is also an intrinsic force attracting, fostering identification with, and satisfying inbound tourists. Location-based big data monitoring shows that during the Labor Day holiday, China received 2.4336 million inbound tourists, a year-on-year increase of 7.4%, of which 544,400 were foreign tourists, a year-on-year increase of 9.8%. With the continued release of the effects of visa, consumption, and payment facilitation, more foreigners are coming to China. Traditional landscapes, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, and sands, as well as historical sites and cultural heritage, remain classic tourist destinations. Modern transportation infrastructure, a comprehensive public service system, open public spaces, and especially the advanced socialist culture integrated into contemporary life are the deeper motivations for them to experience, shop, and even "become Chinese" in China. During holidays, the shift from mainland residents traveling outwards and outbound tourism looking westward, to Hong Kong and Macao residents traveling inwards and international tourists looking eastward, has become an irreversible trend. During the Labor Day holiday, Chinese citizens made 2.4774 million outbound trips, a year-on-year increase of 8.7%. Influenced by rising oil prices and geopolitical policies, some tourists who planned to travel abroad turned to the domestic tourism market. Judging from public opinion data at home and abroad, outbound tourists are increasingly viewing the economic and social development and cultural construction of various countries and regions with equal attitudes, and cultural exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations based on equality, freedom, openness and inclusiveness are becoming more and more common.

Cultural leadership

Construction of a tourism power country

In the process of China's modernization that integrates material civilization and spiritual civilization, China has gradually discovered a path where culture, tourism and economy develop together and achieve prosperity.

The continuous monitoring of the "seven-season" tourism flow over the past several years has shown that factors such as the size of the urban population, the level of economic and social development and cultural construction, the advantages of transportation location and infrastructure completeness, the development degree of commercial systems and travel agencies, tourist attractions, and tourist hotels, which are the classic tourism business forms, have always been the determining factors for the direction and volume of tourist sources. When the waves of traffic such as hot new talents, hit products, and cross-border flows recede, we will clearly see the hard bedrock that determines the vector of tourist flow and the development pattern of destinations. During the Labor Day holiday, the proportions of tourists choosing characteristic tourism consumption such as cultural science popularization tours, entertainment consumption, night tourism, and food打卡 were 34.2%， 32.5%， 27.4%， and 32.6% respectively.

During the holiday, the average travel radius of tourists nationwide was 197.45 kilometers, and the average destination radius was 22.58 kilometers, representing year-on-year increases of 0.5% and 1.5%, respectively. 66.1% of tourists chose to travel by car, with 37.3% opting for a combination of air/high-speed rail and self-driving upon arrival. 31.9% of tourists traveled more than 300 kilometers, and 10.0% stayed for more than 5 days. The provinces with the highest tourist origins included Guangdong, Henan, Shandong, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Hebei, Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, and Zhejiang. The provinces with the highest tourist arrivals also included Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan, Henan, Hebei, Zhejiang, Hubei, Hunan, and Anhui. The cities with the highest tourist arrivals included Chongqing, Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Shenzhen, Xi'an, Hangzhou, Changsha, Tianjin, Zhengzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing, Shijiazhuang, Shenyang, Harbin, Hefei, Kunming, and Jinan. If we overlay demand-side data such as tourist travel directions, scale, and the proportion of self-driving travel onto civil aviation stations, routes and flights, high-speed rail stations, route maps and train numbers, highway networks and city maps along the routes, we will have a deeper understanding of holiday tourism data.

Tourist attractions and resorts remain classic tourist spaces. Historical and cultural blocks, leisure and commercial districts, and all public spaces that embody people's pursuit of a better life will become shared experiential scenarios for both locals and tourists. A special survey shows that 59.9% of tourists visited tourist attractions during the holidays, with 43.0% and 31.9% of respondents choosing tourist and leisure blocks and urban commercial districts, respectively. The proportions choosing city parks, resorts, and cultural and museum venues were 25.6%, 24.5%, and 23.2%, respectively. Top-ranked tourist attractions in terms of visitor volume include West Lake in Hangzhou, Confucius Temple-Qinhuai River in Nanjing, Zhongshan Mountain in Nanjing, Hengdian World Studios in Jinhua, East Lake in Wuhan, Mount Tai in Tai'an, Jinji Lake in Suzhou, Mount Lushan in Jiujiang, Dali Ancient City, Tang Paradise in Xi'an, Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden in Kaifeng, Baiyun Mountain in Guangzhou, Jinshitan in Dalian, Qingcheng Mountain-Dujiangyan in Chengdu, Beijing Olympic Park, Pingyao Ancient City, Laoshan Mountain in Qingdao, Fenghuang Ancient City in Xiangxi, Jiuhua Mountain in Chizhou, and Lijiang Ancient City. Top tourist and leisure districts for visitor reception include Luoyang Ancient City, Changsha Taiping Street, Changchun Hongqi Street, Shenyang Zhongjie, Haikou Qilou, Chengdu Chunxi Road, Hangzhou Qinghefang, Suzhou Ligongdi, Guangzhou Yongqingfang, Chengde Jinlong, Mudanjiang Dongyi Street, Kaifeng Drum Tower, Quanzhou Zhongshan Road, Longyan Diantou Street, Chaozhou Paifang Street, Hohhot Saishang Old Street, Xinzhou Xinfu Ancient City, Suzhou Pingjiang, Jinan Baihuazhou Street, and Wenzhou Wuma Street. Sports events such as the "Suzhou Super League," "Hubei Super League," and "Jiangxi Super League" continue to boost tourism in surrounding areas, with distinctive leisure districts, commercial areas, and shopping centers becoming new scenarios for the integration of culture, commerce, and tourism. Heartwarming public services for tourism in various regions directly reach tourists. For example, Jinzhou government erected billboards inviting tourists to park and use restrooms for free; Nanjing provided cultural and tourism knowledge training for taxi and ride-hailing drivers throughout the city; and Wuhan University and Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine launched immersive campus exploration and cultural experiences.

Culture drives the sharing of urban leisure spaces and the growth of rural cultural industries. Tourists are also creators of contemporary culture and communicators of modern civilization. As young tourists, entrepreneurs, and travelers migrate from metropolitan areas to smaller cities, counties, and traditional villages, a new era of cultural migration begins. While enjoying beautiful scenery, learning about history and culture, and sharing the joys of life, tourists also bring new perspectives and modern lifestyles to their destinations. Whether for short-term stays or long-term residency, these projects open windows to the outside world for long-term residents. In particular, cultural tourism projects that integrate technology, culture, and art provide high-quality employment opportunities and lifestyles for young people returning to their hometowns. These projects are spreading like wildfire in suburban districts and around transportation hubs such as airports. The "Hundred Courtyards Revitalizing Villages" plan in Shuangliu District, Chengdu, provides citizens and tourists with a beautiful lifestyle including literature, local products, delicious food, and comfortable accommodations, and has established a mechanism for cost-benefit arrangements for investors, project managers, village collectives, and farmers. These vast museums, scattered throughout the villages and fields like ink paintings, evoke a sense of nostalgia and contemplation in visitors, reminiscent of the line "Flowers bloom along the path, one can slowly return home." During the holiday, the percentages of tourists choosing large cities, small and medium-sized cities, county towns, and rural destinations were 29.2%, 63.9%, 27.7%, and 16.4%, respectively, with destinations such as Cicheng in Zhejiang, Wulong in Chongqing, Pingyao in Shanxi, and Jianshui in Yunnan showing a significant increase in popularity.

The growing travel demands and consumption upgrades of rural residents have brought new possibilities to the development of rural tourism with Chinese characteristics. During the holidays, the national rural residents' travel rate was 10.1%, with 45.6531 million trips, accounting for 14.0% of all domestic tourist trips during the holidays. The new market pattern of "urban residents going to the countryside for leisure and vacation, and rural residents going to the city for sightseeing" forces both tourism theory and practice to prioritize the protection of tourism rights, including those of rural residents. Ultimately, the rational light of inclusive tourism will illuminate China's modernization process, converging into a consensus and spiritual force for the development of tourists, tourism professionals, and the tourism industry, guiding the direction of a new stage of comprehensive development in contemporary tourism. It is this conscious recognition of culture and sense of responsibility for civilization that has led to a continuous increase in tourist satisfaction during the holidays, while the rationality of civilized tourism has become increasingly apparent.

The advanced socialist culture that attracts tourists and shapes the image of cities and rural tourism also includes the culture that embodies socialist moral standards as advocated by socialist core values, as well as the good moral customs and spiritual achievements formed in social practice. These may be systematically sorted out and systemically promoted, or they may spread spontaneously through the internet. A video of Wuhan university students spontaneously protecting the大姐 (elderly lady) who runs a pancake stall went viral online， allowing tourists to truly feel the kindness of the citizens. This is more touching than the overly formal and four-character slogans of those who spend huge amounts of money on advertising promotion. If tourists can feel every effort of the government, then every bit of kindness released by the citizens can bring direct warmth to tourists.

The "14th Five-Year Plan" has begun, marking the arrival of a new era in which culture will lead the construction of a tourism powerhouse.

Author | Dai Bin

Source | China Tourism Academy (Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism)

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