Chengdu tourist Ah Jun came to Lijiang in 1999. One day later, he decided to stay. Later, she opened a wood carving art space in the ancient city and became a member of Lijiang.

Chen Yue, a Kunming girl, has been to Lijiang 6 times. At first, she only wanted to take pictures of the snow on Yulong Snow Mountain and the moon over Mufu. Later, she tried to change into a Han suit and walk on Xu Xiake's itinerary... The city of Lijiang always brings her some new surprises from time to time.

From 1994 to 2023, the annual number of tourists in Lijiang City, Yunnan Province will increase from hundreds of thousands to nearly 70 million. Some people rush by, others repeatedly "punch in", and some people completely "join"... Lijiang has also grown from a small city in the southwest border area to one of the earliest "online celebrity" tourist cities in China.

Lijiang tourism has gone through 30 years, with glory and controversy. Today, with the continuous development of information technology and the arrival of the "cloud era", the development of cultural and tourism industry and project construction are injected with new vitality. A change that integrates content and scene brings new opportunities to Lijiang.

Overview of Lijiang Ancient City. Drawing provided by Lijiang Ancient City Management Co., Ltd

Create an immersive "Jianghu"

After arriving in Lijiang, tourist Li Zexi had a dream.

He has been engaged in financial work in Hong Kong for many years. In his dream, he became a Naxi people, followed the caravan, walked through ancient cities, snow mountains, lakes, learned to draw white sand murals, read Dongba characters

"I am no longer a tourist. Tourism has changed from the 'third person' to the 'first person'." So Li Zexi took up his pen and began to write a story about Lijiang. The first script about Lijiang is called Memory Fragments.

"Lijiang has unique natural scenery and cultural customs, which is a treasure house for creators, which is rare in the country." For Li Zexi, Lijiang is not only a city, but also a "Jianghu" that can meet his dreams.

In 2018, Li Zexi opened the first "script killing" experience hall in Lijiang - Yunxi Immersion Theater in the ancient city, hoping to provide a new tourism idea.

"Do you want to know the secret letter behind the first stone lamp in Sifang Street? How long does it take for the big water wheel to turn around?" In Li Zexi's script, the story melts into the real scene, and the clues are hidden behind Lijiang's history. To pass the customs, tourists must have a deep understanding of Lijiang's history and culture, explore and visit the whole ancient city, and interact with vendors, shopkeepers, and museum interpreters.

During the May Day holiday, the Yunxi Immersion Theater received nearly 200 people every day, with an average of 4 shows arranged every day. "As a new form of cultural communication, script killing enables tourists to redefine travel through interaction," said Li Zexi.

The paper umbrellas in Xianwen Lane, Guangyi Street, the ancient city of Lijiang, have a special charm. Photographed by Yin Xin on people.com.cn

In recent years, Lijiang has deeply excavated and sorted out historical culture and national culture, and implanted various cultural elements into various links such as travel, shopping, entertainment, housing and transportation. Creating large-scale immersive live cultural tourism has become one of the directions for the transformation of Lijiang's traditional tourism industry.

The ancient city of 7279 square kilometers has successively launched 30 distinctive cultural courtyards, providing a space carrier of benign resonance for the integration of culture and tourism. Yunxi Immersive Theater, together with Xu Xiake Memorial Hall, launched the theme immersive research play "Seeking Xiake"; Dongba Pictographic Painting Experience Hall, Dayan Naxi Ancient Music Festival and other intangible cultural heritage exhibition programs are staged every day; Gu Peter's former residence, the Memorial Hall of the Red Army's Long March Command in Lijiang, etc., reproduce the style of historical celebrities and restore historical events; "Courtyard of Town and City" Xueshan Academy, Sanlian Taofen Bookstore, etc., cultivate the ancient city context

"The theme features, service functions, resource integration scope, technology application, etc. of the cultural courtyard are constantly expanding, becoming the new tourism IP of Lijiang." Duan Shenglei, a staff member of Lijiang Ancient City Management Co., Ltd., introduced.

Wooden Mansion Wanjuanlou. Courtesy of Lijiang Ancient City Museum (Mufu)

Build a smart "brain"

A small river runs through the ancient city of Lijiang, linking the South Gate Bridge and Yuhe Square.

Walk along the water and stroll along the Sifang Street. There are a lot of delicious food and tourists around. The popularity is booming. Every holiday here is even more crowded and bustling. During the May Day holiday this year, Lijiang received 2.8329 million domestic tourists, with a total tourism cost of 3.269 billion yuan.

"Every holiday, the ancient city of Lijiang welcomes the peak flow of visitors, with an average daily visitor reception of more than 100000 person times, which puts great pressure on the management of the scenic spot." At the command center for the comprehensive management of the ancient city of Lijiang, Zhang Yebing, director of the comprehensive command office of the Lijiang Ancient City Protection Administration, checks the real-time traffic, bar noise, complaints and consultation and other data through the big screen, In order to deal with emergencies in a timely manner.

5G, Internet of Things, big data, artificial intelligence and other digital technologies together form the "smart brain" of Lijiang Ancient City, and use technology to "guard" the good order of the scenic spot.

HD camera is on duty 24 hours a day; 5G unmanned sweeping vehicle and unmanned patrol vehicle drive on the flagstone road bearing thousands of years; The digital intelligence navigation screen realizes intelligent interaction and recommends tourist routes for tourists; The intelligent emergency station not only provides tourists with free supplies for hemostasis, bandage and small wound treatment, but also provides automatic external defibrillators, wheelchairs, stretchers and other medical equipment

Digital connection "cloud", including more application fields "super digital scene" is gradually becoming a reality.

Tourists take photos in Lijiang Ancient City. Photographed by Yin Xin on people.com.cn

Lijiang Ancient City uses scientific and technological means to monitor and protect the elements of heritage. Through the collection of information on ancient buildings, three-dimensional and two-dimensional information integration of buildings is realized, so as to permanently preserve the data of ancient buildings; Digital experience products developed by 3D, AR and other technologies have made the millennium old city "alive" and revitalized.

"The application of technology enables the ancient city to provide services everywhere and tourists to experience freedom," said Zhang Yebing.

On September 29, 2022, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced the practice case of digital innovation in culture and tourism in 2022, and the case of Lijiang Ancient City Smart Town was selected as an excellent case. On November 23, 2023, the list of the first batch of "5G+Smart Tourism" application pilot projects in China was announced, and Lijiang Ancient City Scenic Area was successfully selected.

On the second floor of Sanlian Taofen Bookstore, you can read books and watch clouds. Photographed by Yin Xin on people.com.cn

Form a win-win "circle of friends"

A single tree does not make a forest, and a single thread does not make a line. Lijiang is not an "isolated city" on the long journey of tourism reform.

In 1994, the Yunnan Provincial Government put forward the idea of "developing Dali, developing Lijiang, starting Diqing and driving Nujiang" at the Northwest Yunnan Tourism Planning Conference; In 2019, Yunnan Province proposed the goal of building a "Great Western Yunnan Tourism Circle" to promote the overall transformation and upgrading of tourism in western Yunnan

This plan, which has been brewing for several years, has a clear outline in the autumn of 2023.

Last October, the first joint meeting of Dali, Lijiang and Diqing jointly accelerated the high-quality transformation and upgrading of tourism in northwest Yunnan. In April this year, Nujiang, a "new friend", joined us. The four prefectures (cities) held the second joint meeting of high-quality transformation and upgrading of tourism in northwest Yunnan, to discuss cooperation matters and seek good development strategies.

"The cooperation between the four prefectures and cities will certainly be an important part in the history of tourism development in northwest Yunnan," said He Chunxin, secretary of the Party Leadership Group and director of Nujiang Prefecture Culture and Tourism Bureau at the meeting.

The Naxi wood carving artist Mu Xinrong is working. Photographed by Yin Xin on people.com.cn

Subsequently, 12 prefectures and cities including Lijiang, Panzhihua, Lhasa, Golog and Gannan in Yunnan, Sichuan, Tibet, Qinghai and Gansu jointly issued the Greater Shangri La Regional Alliance Initiative. The proposal proposes that the tourism development of the Greater Shangri La Ecotourism Circle should further promote the coordinated development of the Greater Shangri La Ecotourism Circle on the basis of ecological protection, cultural and tourism integration, connectivity as the key, brand co construction as the focus, and strengthening management as the guarantee.

"This is a new opportunity for Lijiang to seek development and cooperation," said Pu Hong, secretary of Lijiang Municipal Party Committee, at the 2024 Mekong River Tourism Forum held on April 24. In 2023, Lijiang will receive 68.08 million tourists, a year-on-year increase of 24%; Tourism revenue was 130.1 billion yuan, up 91% year on year.

The meetings have provided new communication and cooperation platforms for the coordinated development of tourism. "The key to Lijiang's tourism transformation is to change the development idea, adjust the industrial structure, innovate the experience form, and improve the service level." Yang Ning, deputy general manager of Lijiang Yulong Tourism Co., Ltd., suggested that we should continue to create the golden signboard of "forever Shangri La" and "three rivers flowing together", and carry out high-quality tourism development on the premise of ecological protection.

Through the wind and rain, we have accumulated thick and thin hair. At present, Lijiang has released its strong vitality and attraction, taking a new step towards creating a world famous cultural tourism city.

Share to let more people see