Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management, May-June 2021, Vol. 9, No. 3, 165-172 doi: 10.17265/2328-2169/2021.03.004 D DAVID PUBLISHING

Study on Rural Ecotourism Development in Yingshan Area of Chengyu Urban Agglomeration

LIU Yufang, WANG Zhihua, WANG Aizhong, SONG Shuang University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing,

Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration covers a large number of rural areas. These areas have unique topographic conditions, diverse landscape types, and beautiful natural environment, but the economic conditions are underdeveloped; the ecological environment is fragile and the tourism carrying capacity is low. At the same time, they are facing the problems of lack of tourism facilities and low management level of scenic spots. Taking Yingshan area as an example, this paper evaluates the rural tourism development conditions from the aspects of location conditions, complementarity of tourism resources, highlights of tourism resources, tourist source conditions, and ecological environment, and makes a detailed plan for the functional zoning and tourism products of rural tourism development. The research shows that in order to realize the sustainable development of rural tourism resources, Chongqing urban agglomeration should take the global tourism concept as the scientific guidance, ecological protection as the premise, agricultural resources as the basis, and culture as the soul, carry out rational, orderly, and scientific rural ecotourism development, and create high-quality rural ecotourism products.

Keyword: Chengdu Chongqing urban agglomeration, ecotourism, rural tourism resources, Yingshan area

Introduction Ecotourism has been widely valued by the tourism and ecological protection circles since it was put forward in the 1980s. Ecotourism pays attention to the heterogeneity of nature and culture, and emphasizes the protection of ecological environment and the promotion of the interests of local community residents (Weaver & Lawton, 2007). Advocating people to understand, enjoy, and protect nature is considered to be one of the best models for the sustainable development of tourism (Yang, Zhong, & Ming, 2017). Rural tourism can not only protect rural ecological environment and rural culture, but also promote rural economic development (Fleischer & Tchetchik, 2005). Facing the current problems of rural poverty, decline in environmental quality, insufficient industrial cultivation, and homogeneous competition of rural tourism in China, rural tourism must

Acknowledgments: This project was supported by the Subproject of General Project of Humanities and Social Sciences Research Project of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission (No. 21SKGH224). LIU Yufang, Master, lecturer, School of Tourism and Event Management, of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing, China. WANG Zhihua, Master, associate professor, School of Tourism and Event Management, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing, China. WANG Aizhong, Master, associate professor, School of Tourism and Event Management, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing, China. SONG Shuang, Master, lecturer, School of Tourism and Event Management, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing, China.

166 STUDY ON RURAL ECOTOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN YINGSHAN AREA undergo ecological transformation (Li & Wang, 2015). The concept of ecotourism development is very in line with the practical needs of current rural development. Centered on Chengdu and Chongqing, Chengdu Chongqing urban agglomeration is an important platform for western development, a strategic support for the River economic belt, and an important demonstration area for the country to promote new urbanization (Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China, n.d.; National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China, n.d.). Yingshan area is located in the main axis of Chengdu Chongqing economic circle, in the west of Yongchuan and at the junction of Chongqing and . It belongs to the parallel ridge Valley fold area in Southeast Sichuan and the low mountain and hill system extending from Huaying Mountain to southwest. Yingshan area contains typical rural forms in Chengdu Chongqing urban agglomeration. The development and research of rural ecotourism can provide reference for the development of other rural areas in Chengdu Chongqing urban agglomeration.

Overview of Rural Ecotourism Resources in Yingshan Area Yingshan district has a long history and rich culture. Yongrong town is the hometown of Chen Zizhuang, an outstanding Chinese painting master in the 20th century; Yongrong cuiya won the gold award of Huaming cup national famous tea competition at the 2005 Chongqing Yongchuan International Tea Culture Tourism Festival; Honglu town is the sericulture base of Chongqing Jinfeng silk company and the tea base of youyichun tea company; Qingfeng town is the entrepreneurial base of small enterprises in Chongqing and the second-line vegetable base established in Chongqing; Baofeng town is the excavation site of dinosaur fossils. In addition, the mining industry in Yingshan area is developed, forming a unique mining culture and narrowgauge trains for coal transportation in the mining operation for a long time. According to the tourism resources investigation classification system in the national standard of the People’s Republic of China Classification, investigation and evaluation of tourism resources (GB/T18972-2003), the main tourism resources in Yingshan area have eight main categories, 19 subcategories, 46 basic types, and about 110 resource units (Table 1). According to the above classification and evaluation system, the main tourism resources in Yingshan area are scored, and then the grade of tourism resources is determined for individual tourism resources according to the score and grade index. According to the total score of individual evaluation of tourism resources, it is divided into five levels. The grade results of tourism resources are shown in Table 2.

Table 1 Types and Abundance of Rural Ecotourism Resources in Yingshan Area Subclass Basic type Main class Percentage in Percentage in Whole country Yingshan area the whole Whole country Yingshan area the whole country (%) country (%) Geocultural landscape 5 3 60.00 37 5 13.51 Water scenery 6 3 50.00 15 3 20.00 Biological landscape 4 2 50.00 11 2 18.18 Celestial phenomena and 2 2 100.00 8 2 25.00 climate Ruins and relic 2 1 50.00 12 5 41.67 Architecture and facilities 7 5 71.43 49 20 40.81

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Tourism commodities 1 1 100.00 7 3 42.86 Humanistic activities 4 2 50.00 16 6 37.50 Total 31 19 61.29 155 46 29.68

Table 2 Rating of Main Tourism Resources in Yingshan Area Resource level Resource score Resource list Remarks Level 4 ≥ 75-89 Chen Zizhuang’s hometown, coal narrow gauge train Wanshou mountain, 10000 mu tea base, Yingshan 10000 mu forest farm, Bailong lake, baimadong, Chaoyang village, Yongrong cuiya, Excellent tourism chuanzhudong, yinkun ecological park, Guanmenshan reservoir, rape Level 3 ≥ 60-74 resources flower sea, organic vegetable planting demonstration area, Xingju traditional Chinese medicine chicken breeding base, xiao’anxi River, 164 Electronic Research Institute Longdong Chaoxia, Huilong Canyon, Xindian pit group, dinosaur fossils, Xindian martyr cemetery, huilongqiao Xiaokang village, Level 2 ≥ 45-59 Yungu temple, Tiening tomb, dengdong aqueduct, yangstrawberry base, Nanshan Temple, Wulong bridge, dengdong mountain cliff stone General tourism carvings of the Ming Dynasty, plum manor, Baishi cave resources Xiangshui cave, ancient tomb of Southern Song Dynasty, 10000 mu nanmu base, mysterious Zen cave, luyongqiao coal mine, laojishikou Level 1 ≥ 30-44 Gongde monument, Dagou reservoir, dacaogou coal mine, Qingfeng reservoir, leidashi

Evaluation on Development Conditions of Rural Ecotourism Resources in Yingshan Area The natural scenic spots and cultural and historical relics of Honglu, Yongrong, Baofeng, Shuangshi, and Laisu five towns in Yingshan area are still in the “original ecology”, and the tourism development is still in the initial stage. Only Qingfeng town has launched a series of rural tourism activities of four seasons in Qingfeng Li. Yongrong town opened the road from Chaoyang Zhai to Tiening tomb, formed a tourism ring line, continuously strengthened the protection of cultural relics, and successfully held the first tea picking competition. The renovation of chenzizhuang’s former residence was incorporated into the construction plan of the demonstration courtyard, the site selection and construction of chenzizhuang cemetery was officially started, new progress was made in the expansion and quality improvement of tea and edible fungus base, the construction of 10000 mu nanmu base was smoothly promoted, two new farmhouses were built, and new achievements were made in the integrated development of tea and tourism. Rural ecotourism has broad prospects. Location Conditions Yingshan district is located in the west of , at the junction of Chongqing and Sichuan provinces, only 3 km away from the first ring road in the urban area. It starts from Tanghuangba village of Shengli Road office in the East, connects Hejiang and Luzhou in Sichuan in the south, borders Luxian County and in Sichuan in the west, and connects Rongchang County and in the north. It is 79 km away from Chongqing, 68 km away from Luzhou, and 265 km away from Chengdu, covering an area of 230 square kilometers. It is adjacent to Rongchang station of Chengdu Chongqing high speed railway, close to Chongqing third ring expressway, and the urban fast track loop line, Chengdu Chongqing Expressway and Yonglu Expressway pass through it. It is 45 km away from Yongchuan Da’an general airport. The convenient traffic network system makes the traffic location advantages of Yingshan area more obvious.

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Complementarity of Tourism Resources There are about 100 resource points that can be sorted in Yingshan area, covering various natural and human resources such as forests, valleys, caves, tea fields, reservoirs, villages, private gardens, temple relics, mining sites, etc.; the number is rich and the tourism resources are highly complementary. In terms of types, the ownership rate of the main category of tourism resources is 100%. Among the coverage rates of subcategories and basic types, there are 19 subcategories, accounting for 61.29% of the standard number, but there are only 46 basic types, accounting for 29.68% of the standard number. The basic types of tourism resources in Yingshan area are obviously few. So far, the area has no distinctive natural resource endowment and cultural and folk resources with national influence, no scenic spots above Class A, no cultural relics protection units, historical towns, resorts, forest parks, etc., with titles above provincial level. In addition, the distribution of tourism resources in the planning area presents the characteristics of “large dispersion and small concentration”. The six towns have resource distribution, but the two towns of Honglu and Yongrong have significantly more resources. Highlights of Tourism Resources The ubiquitous and unknown rural tourism resources including mountain resources, ecological resources, hometown of celebrities, modern agriculture, mine relics, village landscape, flower resources, and energy industry are the basis and focus of Yingshan tourism development. The above resources are suitable for tourists of all ages to visit, understand, and experience, so as to increase their knowledge and cultivate their sentiment. Therefore, it is suitable for innovative development of research, learning, sports, and leisure projects such as camp, picking, farming, hiking, and health care. Tourist Source Conditions From the existing resource base conditions, although Yingshan area has rich tourism resources, compared with the surrounding rural ecotourism areas, there is a homogenization phenomenon, the characteristics are not very prominent, and the attraction to tourists is relatively low; Compared with a wider range of regions, the value and level of resources are relatively limited, which is highlighted in that the market attraction scope is mainly concentrated in the short and medium range, and the attraction to the remote market is relatively weak. This feature can be verified from the reality that the consumer groups coming to Yongchuan at this stage are mainly local citizens of Chongqing and residents of surrounding Sichuan and Guizhou. In order to avoid vicious competition and meet the diversified needs of tourists, Yingshan area should make good use of the advantages of inter provincial junction and traffic location, grasp the characteristics, find the right angle, accurately locate, focus on the tourist source market of Sichuan, Chongqing, and Guizhou, and create high-quality and unique products with the help of rural ecotourism resources. Ecological Environment Yingshan area has beautiful mountains and rivers, high forest coverage, surrounded by mountains and rivers, all seasons, good ecological environment, high aesthetic value, and recreational value. Tourism is in the “primitive stage” to be developed, with less human activities and less ecological damage. However, mining has been carried out in a small number of areas in the area, leaving a small number of abandoned mines, which has a certain impact on the ecological environment and tourism environment in these areas. The ecological restoration of mines should be strengthened and innovatively integrated with tourism to reduce its impact on the

STUDY ON RURAL ECOTOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN YINGSHAN AREA 169 ecological environment. On the other hand, there is a lack of good use of the existing natural landscape and agricultural landscape. The appearance of rural villages needs to be improved. Paying attention to the effective utilization of natural resources and the construction of the overall ecological and characteristic cultural environment is one of the keys to tourism development.

Development Planning of Rural Ecotourism Resources in Yingshan Area Guided by the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, thoroughly implement the scientific outlook on development, closely focus on the development goal of building Yongchuan into a “leisure tourism destination for Sichuan, Chongqing and Guizhou”, combine the brand construction of “rural time” in Yongchuan, and give full play to the regional pattern, tourism resources, and policy advantages of Yingshan area in accordance with the strategic idea of “tourism leading, industry win-win and project benefit the people”, fully implement the “global tourism” development strategy and Rural Revitalization Strategy, deeply explore the theme connotation and tourism products of Yingshan tourism development, comprehensively promote the high-quality project strategy, industrial integration strategy, and regional linkage strategy, effectively promote the scale expansion and quality improvement of the tourism industry, complete the industrial elements and extend the industrial chain, speed up the process of the tourism industry, and realize the all-round development of tourism in Yingshan area. Development Orientation The development orientation of Rural Ecotourism in Yingshan area is to build Yingshan area into a mountain leisure destination with the theme of sports, entertainment and research tourism according to the local characteristics of resources and the principles of sustainable development, coordination and comprehensive pull, and to position the theme image of rural ecotourism development in Yingshan area as “a holy land for study tour, please Yingshan”. Yingshan area has many kinds of natural resources and profound historical and cultural heritage. The area is mainly connected by sightseeing trains, integrating industrial research, agricultural research, ecological science popularization research, historical and cultural research, camp education research, business and economic research and other contents in Yingshan area, so as to create a collection of train orienteering, mine exploration, outdoor cross-country sports, tea country hiking, canyon crossing, jungle camping. Zizhuang is a comprehensive tourism destination integrating martial arts and sports, attracting children and young people from Chengdu, Chongqing, and other provinces and cities in Southwest China to carry out special tourism activities such as research, exploration, and exploration in Yingshan. Development Objectives The initial development goal of Rural Ecotourism in Yingshan area is to improve various infrastructure construction, make rational use of mountain, forest farm, and reservoir resources, continuously optimize the local ecological environment, encourage local residents to participate in and benefit from tourism development, vigorously develop leisure experience rural ecotourism, realize the transformation of agricultural economic structure and the sustainable development of rural ecotourism resources, build a well-known sports and entertainment tourism destination in Southwest China and a national research tourism demonstration base, and create two AAAA scenic spots and three AAA scenic spots. On the basis of stabilizing the original western market, it mainly focuses on the central markets of Shaanxi, Hubei, and Hunan, radiating other central and

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Eastern markets such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong and overseas markets such as Japan and South Korea. Functional Partition 1. Cross the time sightseeing train loop. Yingshan coal narrow gauge truck was built in the 1950s, with a total length of about 20 km, of which Honglu town is the longest, about 14 km. Small trains were used to transport passengers in 1980 and ended in 1993. At present, the small train track is well preserved and has a long length, which is unique in Chengdu and Chongqing. Six towns and key tourism projects in the area are connected by small train tracks. Stations are set in major scenic spots. The railway stations have different styles and small and exquisite designs. Six special stations are formed along the line, including red station, Republic of China station, forest station, iron art station, raw ore station, and calligraphy and painting station. Each station is a landscape, which is not only a means of transportation, but also a tourism experience project. It connects the main tourism products in Yingshan area to form a tourism transportation loop and a tourism landscape loop. 2. Northwest Rural Movement and culture research school district. Located at the junction of Sichuan and Chongqing, the functional area is the entrance of Rongchang, Luzhou, and other Sichuan areas to Yingshan area in the west, with obvious location advantages. It is located in the middle of Yingshan mountain range, with high sea level and high forest vegetation coverage. It is the largest Chanan mixed forest base in Yongchuan. Rich in resources and various types, there is great potential for the development of resources such as mountains, lakes, karst caves, ancient villages, temples, and hometown of celebrities. It can carry out camping, ecological leisure, forest amusement, health and vacation, heritage experience, mining science popularization, martial arts research, calligraphy and painting science popularization, religious pilgrimage, Zen tea experience and other activities. As the west gate of Yingshan district and one of the main tourist distribution centers, it is an important stop for sightseeing trains. It is a Yingshan research and learning tourist destination characterized by Chen Zizhuang’s hometown, Wanshou Mountain, and Chaoyang village. 3. Southeast agricultural research and ecological leisure area. The agriculture in the functional area is developed, and tea and silkworm have formed a scale. Dinosaur fossils in Baofeng town are unique in Yingshan area. Chuanzhu cave, Dengdong Mountain, Ming Dynasty cliff stone carvings, Bentong temple, and other cultural and historical sites are scattered in the area. The south foot of Yingshan Mountain has appropriate slope and moderate vegetation coverage. It has a variety of suitable cross-country venues such as low mountains, shallow hills, and flat dams. It has rich types, few residents, and low construction cost. It can introduce international racetrack projects to build cross-country parks, complement the racetrack, create a comprehensive event system combining indoor and outdoor, professional racing and cross-country entertainment, and build Yongchuan into the most dazzling professional automobile events and cross-country entertainment center in the western region. It can develop a comprehensive tourism destination characterized by automobile cross-country sports and integrate pastoral picking, agricultural leisure, rural accommodation and characteristic catering. Characteristic Tourism Product Design At present, the tourism products in Yingshan area are in the form of agricultural sightseeing, picking and local specialty retail. The tourism product model is relatively single. Combined with local characteristic industries, it promotes the sustainable development of local rural ecotourism, improves the comprehensive

STUDY ON RURAL ECOTOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN YINGSHAN AREA 171 tourism value of Yingshan area, and innovatively designs the following characteristic tourism products to promote the diversification and development of Yingshan area complex tourism product system. 1. Eco vacation tourism products: develop eco vacation tourism by using the resources of one forest and one mountain, characteristic tea garden, and rural ecological environment in Yingshan area, as well as the planned rural vacation villa group, camping base, home stay, Farmhouse Hotel, etc. It includes huilongqiao pastoral complex, Changshou Valley camping base, Wanshou Mountain scenic spot, Huayu forest tree house camp, Zen tea Culture Experience Park, etc. 2. Rural sports tourism products: The vast countryside provides superior development conditions for sports and leisure. Yingshan area introduces Yuanzhen Chongqing International Racetrack Project with the advantages of terrain, and constructs a sports plate product system with the characteristics of international racing: Taking automobile events as the core and other sports as the basis, such as Cross-Country Park, Hiking Park Rural Memory Sports Park, and other sports products. 3. Research tourism products: Chen Zizhuang is a famous martial artist, calligrapher, and painter in China. With the help of the reputation of Chen Zizhuang master, Chen Zizhuang’s former residence is restored and the surrounding cultural environment atmosphere is created. Relying on Chen Zizhuang culture, fully excavate the historical and folk culture of the planned area, rebuild Chen Zizhuang courtyard according to the antique style combined with the new rural construction, and build Chen Zizhuang’s former residence, traditional Chinese painting art village Martial arts research base, and other tourism products. In addition, other tourism products in the area can also carry out research tourism, such as industrial research, agricultural research, ecological science popularization research, historical and cultural research, camp education research, business economy research, etc. 4. Industrial tourism integrated tourism products: There are many coal mines closed in Honglu town in Yingshan district, leaving a lot of cultural heritage of coal mining industry, as well as large pits left by cement mining, which are the main focus of ecological restoration in the district. Combined with tourism, develop tourism products such as coal science popularization base, coal mining experience hall, coal science and technology exhibition hall and Tiankeng walk. 5. Organic agricultural tourism products: Relying on the rich agricultural resources, rural festivals, and characteristic agricultural products in the area, activities such as flower and seedling sightseeing, characteristic fruit picking, organic vegetable planting experience and folk performance activities can be carried out. Such as the four seasons tour of agricultural products such as rape flower, sorghum wine, grape and pomelo, the characteristic performances of weeding Yangko and stone work, the characteristic commodities of fool Douchi and Qingfeng red sorghum wine, including colorful Gallery Yingshan landscape belt, maker village, farming family, rural Disney, and other projects.

Conclusion Chengdu Chongqing urban agglomeration is in the period of vigorous construction. The development of its vast rural areas is related to the coordinated development in the region and determines whether the national strategy can be successfully implemented. Chengdu Chongqing urban agglomeration is rich in rural tourism resources, but it is facing many development challenges at the same time. To realize the sustainable development of rural tourism resources, we should take the global tourism concept as the scientific guidance, ecological protection as the premise, agricultural resources as the basis, and culture as the soul, carry out

172 STUDY ON RURAL ECOTOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN YINGSHAN AREA rational, orderly, and scientific rural ecotourism development, create high-quality rural ecotourism products to meet the growing demand of the public for high-quality ecotourism products, promote the high-quality development of rural economy, and realize the coordinated development of urban and rural areas.

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