Written by: Mayigu Aythazi
Posted on: November 28, 2018 | 
| 中文
A product with intangible cultural heritage
Tourism and culture are indispensable and reciprocal. Xinjiang is currently pacing up its integration of culture and tourism resources, to enhance the fusion and development of culture-tourism industry and promote the competitiveness and vitality of tourism products in Xinjiang.
Developing a “Culture + Tourism” Mode
One summer evening, LOHAS Town in Changji City of North Xinjiang, was crowded with a large number of tourists, who were going round over 300 makers’ stores, with 5000 and more tourists visiting every day. The small town, with its Xinjiang characteristics, is a well-known “makers’ space” which has combined creation, culture, tourism, leisure and entertainment.
On 19th July, 2018, the show “Grand Kanas Ceremony” was performed at Kanas Scenic Zone, and it was a recomposed version, with the elements of the legends, music and dance of local Tuvinian people. It attracted more and more tourists, including Lin Zhongyi, the producer of “The Silk Road Gala Show,” and “Grand Kanas Ceremony.” The goal for “Grand Kanas Ceremony” show in 2018 is 150 performances, 100,000 more audience and an income of more than 8,000,000 yuan RMB.
“Culture + Tourism” Mode with abundant cultural resources of Xinjiang
A place for the convergence of western and eastern cultures in its history, Xinjiang has more than 5 world class natural and cultural heritages, among which Qiuci Culture is the most well-known, with Buddhist grottos, frescos, music and dance. Besides the ancient ruins of Loulan, Niya and Gaochang have also been attracting tourists and explorers from both home and abroad with their mysteries. There are also unique music and dances, sports games, ethnic folk customs, and all of them offer larger platforms for developing the mode of “culture + tourism.”
In recent years, Xinjiang has attached great importance to the development of culture in the region. As a result, a large number of culture-related industries and key cultural enterprises are growing larger and stronger, giving birth to a series of high-profile festivals and cultural brands, such as “China Xinjiang International Folk Dance Festival,” and they have paved the way for the development of “culture + tourism” mode.
Cultural elements: Appealing and Attractive
Tourism programs are impressive when they are blended with cultural elements. In Xinjiang, tourist souvenirs, such as those of Mongolian embroidery, mulberry bark paper, folk musical instruments, have been designed out of intangible heritages, which are getting increasingly popular and are travelling out of Xinjiang into the world.
Lu Bingjian, general manager of a tourist souvenir company, said “Xinjiang Mohuying Culture and Media Co,” is confident about the mode of “culture + tourism.” He believed that there would be much greater sales of their products with the still booming markets of Xinjiang tourism and increasingly appealing cultural and creative products, compared to traditional tourist souvenirs. Take the situation of Xinjiang Museum Souvenirs Shop as an example, where the annual visitor number has exceeded 900,000.
Culture + Tourism Mode: Bright Prospects in Future
Xinjiang, as the core zone of the Silk Road Economic Belt, has given priority to the development of “Urumqi-Changji Culture and Tourism Industry Concentration Core Circle” and “Kashgar-Hotan-Aksu-Kezilesu Featured Cultural Tourism Industry Development Core Circle.” At the same time, it has focused on promoting the projects of “Altay-Tacheng-Bortala-Ili Ecological and Cultural Tourism Industry Belt” and “Urumqi-Changji-Karamay Newly-Developed Culture and Tourism Industry Belt” and so on.
Wang Weidong, head of Xinjiang Cultural Relics Department, said that Xinjiang will deepen the integration of its cultures and tourism development, through giving “full play of radiation and leading role of the Center of Culture, Science and Education” of the Core Zone of Silk Road Economic Belt. Specifically, it will upgrade tourism industry with local and modern culture, expand its cultural diffusion through tourism and promote the deeper fusion of public culture service and tourism, cultural relics and tourism, and intangible cultural heritages and tourism in Xinjiang; and it also aims to deepen the integration of entertainment business and tourism, creative design and tourism, and cultural recreation and tourist industry in the region.
With the Culture + Tourism Mode, Xinjiang will become a prosperous and promising land of culture and tourism integration.
Translated by Yang Jing
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