CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Tuesday, July 6, 2021 | 17 LIFE Visitors flock to historic site

Red tourism, coupled with natural scenery and an enchanting lake sees crowds surge to Jiaxing, Yang Feiyue reports.

ts breathtaking natural scen- ery, urban landscape and path to glory profound red tourism resour- mPathapp toin gloryg ces are the main draws for progress Itravelers to Jiaxing in East China’s Zhejiang province. a small red boat are also frequented Nanhu Lake scenic spot, which by visitors in the neighborhood. sits in the southeast of the city, is The boat was built in 1959 and among the highlights of any visit. fashioned after the red boat on the Its eastern and western ends form Nanhu Lake, where that fateful first a resemblance to two mandarin national congress of the CPC was ducks with their necks intertwined. concluded 100 years ago. Since the Song Dynasty (960- It was on the boat that the found- 1279), it has been one of the three ing of the CPC was announced. best-known lakes in the Yangtze The replica was made based on River region, together with Xuanwu the accounts of Wang Huiwu who Lake in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, helped arrange the transfer of the and West Lake in Hangzhou, capital first national congress from Shang- city of Zhejiang. hai to Jiaxing and was reviewed and Public enthusiasm toward local approved by Dong Biwu, one of the tourism has been fueled further this 13 delegates who traveled from all year by the 100th anniversary of the over the country to attend the meet- founding of the Communist Party of ing that began in Shanghai on July China. 23, 1921. The Nanhu Revolutionary Memo- The weeklong meeting, however, rial Hall in Jiaxing has been packed was interrupted on the second to with travelers looking to enjoy a last day by the French police. At the new exhibition that opened to the suggestion of Wang Huiwu, the public on June 5. meeting was transferred to Jiaxing The exhibition showcases the his- and completed on the red boat. tory of the CPC in four phases, from “We maintain the boat every its establishment under tumultuous year,” Li says, adding that every- social conditions to its vast array of thing is done by hand in the tradi- achievements. tional way. “It was a very small Party then,” The red boat is moored near the says Li Yun, deputy curator of the Yanyu Tower, which has retained its memorial hall. historical look. There were only dozens of Party It was where some of the dele- members when the first national gates went to reconnoiter the area congress of the CPC was held in to ensure the safety of the meeting. 1921. Red tourists at Jiaxing have been However, after a century it has on the rise over the past six years, evolved to have more than 90 mil- says Zhu Yawei, a senior govern- lion members. The whole process is ment official at Jiaxing. worthy of public commemoration, The city has received 2.26 million Li says. tourist visits over the first five Preparation for the exhibition months of this year, and the authori- began late last year, and it expands ty expects annual visit numbers to historical items that enable visitors surpass 6 million. to more vividly relive the past. The Nanhu Lake scenic spot The exhibition covers an area of greeted 357,400 tourists over the 5,600 square meters and offers Labor Day holiday (May 1-5). more than 1,100 historical items. Among them, 65 percent were The memorial hall’s authority has born between the 1980s and 2000s, ensured the provenance of every according to Zhu. exhibit, as well as incorporating new “It shows that our red tourism approaches in the display of the Par- offering appeals to more young peo- ty’s history, including phantom ple, who want to review the history imaging and oil paintings. of the Party and draw inspiration “We’ve received about 10,000 from it,” Zhu says. tourist visits a day,” says Li. Clockwise from top: A replica of the red boat, built in 1959 on Nanhu Lake, in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, is moored on the site where The rise of red tourism has also In particular, families have the first national congress of the Communist Party of China was concluded 100 years ago. The Nanhu Revolutionary Memorial Hall urged the local authority to step up accounted for a considerable por- showcases the history of the CPC with more than 1,100 items. The Yanyu Tower, near the red boat, is a popular tourist attraction. efforts to upgrade the local tourism tion of the total number. photos by yang feiyue / china daily industry. “We’ve found that more parents “We’ve done a lot of work in are willing to bring their children improving our services and here to learn about the history of The Nanhu Revolutionary facts, including revolutionary rel- After the expansion, the Nanhu rich cultural elements, character- enhancing the tourist experience,” the Party,” Li says, adding that the Memorial Hall was established in ics, precious documents, as well as memorial hall covers an area of istic of regions south of the Yang- Zhu says. exhibition is aimed at helping the 1959. Its aim is to promote and pro- valuable paintings and calligraphy 2.73 hectares, with a total construc- tze River. The main building Red culture has been integrated public, especially young people, tect the site of the first national works. tion area of more than 19,600 resembles a hammer and sickle, with local water town culture and understand the struggles and hard- congress of the CPC. It was expand- One of the most treasured exhib- square meters, which is 10 times symbolizing the emblem of the historical elements. won victories of the past, so they ed and upgraded in 2011 to mark its is a second-print edition of the that of the original building. The Party. It is 19 meters high and has The idea is to “let tourists to Jiax- can appreciate the difficulty in the 90th anniversary of the found- Communist Manifesto by the two exhibition area is now 7,700 square two stories. ing get a sense of the original aspira- obtaining the happy life they enjoy ing of the CPC. Since then, the great German thinkers Karl Marx and meters. The memorial welcomes more tion and mission of the Communist today. Hopefully, he says, they will memorial hall has continued to Friedrich Engels in the Chinese lan- The exterior wall is covered in than 1 million visitors a year, accord- Party of China”, Zhu says. be inspired to do their part to con- expand its collection of historical guage. To date, there are only 11 such large green tiles, which not only ing to Li. tribute to the country’s develop- objects. At present, the venue is copies that have been found, accord- renders the whole building with a A few minutes walk from the Contact the writer at ment. home to more than 10,000 arti- ing to a tour guide with the hall. solemn atmosphere, but displays memorial hall, the Yanyu Tower and [email protected] Group launches nationwide festival program

By Yang Feiyue the overall upgrading of this cultur- [email protected] al tourism festival, and create more activities and new experiences to The Overseas Chinese Town meet the public need for tourism Group kicked off its 2021 Culture with a spirit of craftsmanship and and Tourism Festival on June 19. high-quality products,” says Liu More than 500 themed activities Fengxi, general manager of OCT and 500 culture and tourism pro- Group. ductions will be hosted across the In February, the 2020 tourism country until October. economic operation analysis and They will be held at resorts, scenic 2021 development forecast report spots, theme parks and hotels oper- issued by the China Tourism Acade- ated by the OCT Group. my points out that people pay more The festival was first held in 2018, attention to consumption expendi- and, since then, more than 1,100 ture for culture and tourism when themed events and 2,500 culture society becomes better off. and tourism experiences have been According to figures from the staged. Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Programs will feature music, car- China’s tourism market witnessed a nivals, traditional art and gourmet strong rebound, with a total of 230 food. Left: Families make a splash at the World Dinosaur Valley in Lufeng county, Yunnan province. Right: The OCT Harbor Plus in Foshan, million domestic trips made during OCT has now developed a dozen Guangdong province, is a popular draw for visitors. photos provided to china daily the Labor Day holiday — a year-on- business models nationwide, year rise of 119.7 percent. including rural resorts, art zones, The figure also represented a 103 festive celebrations, natural attrac- held at OCT’s camping site in Nying- back to nature to enjoy a state of culture and innovative contempo- The company believes that, with percent recovery of the tourism tions, performances, themed hotels chi, in the Tibet autonomous region. tranquillity. rary art, while a torch festival will be the people’s expectation for a better industry following the pandemic. and parks. Nighttime musical carnivals will A health preservation festival will staged in Yunnan province’s Wei- life, their desire for better tourism Tourism revenue during the holi- Travelers can visit OCT’s newly be held at nine Happy Valley theme be held in Shenzhen, and coastal shan. experiences will be more prominent. day reached 113 billion yuan ($17 bil- opened Yangzhou Dream City in parks in cities such as Jiangxi prov- camping can be found in Zhejiang This year marks the beginning of “Against the background of the lion), up 138 percent year-on-year. Jiangsu province, and enjoy at the ince’s Nanchang and Guangdong province’s Ningbo. A sports carnival China’s 14th Five-Year Plan period new development pattern, as a Dai Bin, president of the China international fun festival in the province’s Shenzhen. will entertain the public in Yunnan (2021-25), and the journey to build- State-owned enterprise mainly Tourism Academy, believes that mass Xiangyang Fantasy resort in Hubei Therapeutic and leisure experien- province’s Kunming. ing a socialist modern country in an engaged in cultural industry and tourism needs quality and diversity, province. A bonfire party will also be ces are also available to take visitors Art festivals will display Chinese all-around way has begun. tourism, OCT Group will promote both now and in the future.