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The "15th Five-Year Plan" recommendations clearly state: "Strengthen the effective protection and dynamic inheritance of historical and cultural cities, districts, and villages," and "Promote the deep integration of culture and tourism, vigorously develop the cultural tourism industry, and empower economic and social development through culture." These important deployments provide fundamental guidance and inject strong momentum into the deep integration and development of intangible cultural heritage and tourism.
In Dongyang, Zhejiang, Linxi Thirty-Six Courtyards has revitalized the blue calico printing and dyeing technique in the countryside by creating a unique "rural showground"; in Zhangzhou, Fujian, the ancient city uses immersive experiences to deeply integrate intangible cultural heritage into people's daily lives; in Jing County, Anhui, the Xuan Paper Town is deeply rooted in the immortal cultural heritage of "paper lasting for a thousand years," allowing a thin sheet of paper to carry the immense power of research, learning experiences, and cultural and creative development.
These innovative practices from historical and cultural cities, districts, and villages fully demonstrate the huge potential and vigorous vitality of the integrated development of intangible cultural heritage and tourism.
A piece of blue calico "showcases" a new path for rural cultural tourism
Located deep in the mountains of Dongyang, Zhejiang, Sandan Township was once a typical "hollowed-out village." With a permanent population of less than 3,000, mainly elderly people, local culture and folk traditions were gradually fading.
Here lies a national-level intangible cultural heritage that has been passed down for 1400 years – the blue calico printing and dyeing technique. In the local wedding traditions, a blue calico "lotus quilt" is an indispensable dowry for the bride, not only conveying the family's blessings of "harmony and beauty," but also embodying the skills and rural memories passed down through generations. However, due to weak infrastructure, abandoned old houses, and fallow land, blue calico gradually faded from people's lives, and the precious intangible cultural heritage faced a crisis of inheritance.
The turning point came in 2020, when Dongyang City, leveraging the momentum of the "Ten Million Project," launched the Linxi Thirty-Six Courtyards project in Sandan Township, centered on blue calico. “The biggest challenge in intangible cultural heritage protection is the loss of connection with modern life. Without market vitality, intangible cultural heritage will eventually be forgotten. Intangible cultural heritage must survive through ‘being used,’” said Guo Yunyu, director of the Linxi Thirty-Six Courtyards Intangible Cultural Heritage Center, in an interview with China Youth Daily and China Youth Network.
To address this, the team decided to use the "Intangible Cultural Heritage Rural Show" as an engine to build a brand-new cultural tourism ecosystem. They used the mountains and rivers as a stage, creating a unique "Mountain and River Show," and formed the first rural model team, with members from 5 villages, ranging in age from 23 to 65. They started from scratch and can now confidently perform regularly, and even guide tourists in catwalks.
The show is just the beginning. The ultimate goal of Linxi Thirty-Six Courtyards is to create a complete cultural tourism ecosystem centered on blue-dyed cloth, achieving the organic integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries: the primary industry focuses on organic rice paddies and tea gardens; the secondary industry involves building intangible cultural heritage workshops and cultural spaces; and the tertiary industry realizes comprehensive value transformation through themed guesthouses and in-depth intangible cultural heritage study tours.
To this end, the team focused on three key areas: First, reshaping space, allowing old houses to tell new stories. The team collaborated with 5 villages, transforming more than 350 old houses into intangible cultural heritage workshops, exhibition halls, and themed guesthouses, promoting the transformation of old buildings from "being preserved" to "being revitalized." Second, promoting product innovation, connecting intangible cultural heritage with modern life. The team delved into the beautiful meanings of blue-dyed cloth patterns, collaborating with young designers to develop a series of cultural and creative products that meet modern aesthetics; Third, empowering villagers, using the "new villagers driving old villagers" model to establish "She Workshops," driving employment for idle female laborers and achieving an average annual income increase of 10,000 yuan per person.
"The protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage is not an isolated 'rescue' effort, but can be a creative practice of rural revitalization," said Guo Yunyu. "What we are 'showcasing' is not only products, but also cultural confidence, a lifestyle aesthetic, and development possibilities."
From "Living Intangible Cultural Heritage Grand Garden" to "New Consumption Scenarios"
With the popularity of the TV series "Silent Glory," Zhangzhou Ancient City, this "living intangible cultural heritage grand garden," has also entered the view of national audiences. The national intangible cultural heritage elements featured in the drama, such as Gezai opera and glove puppetry, are a true reflection of the vibrant cultural ecosystem of the ancient city. Zhangzhou Ancient City is home to 17,000 residents, and intangible cultural heritage is not a relic to be kept in a museum, but an integral part of daily life. Through the deep integration of intangible cultural heritage and tourism, ancient skills are being passed down in a living, vibrant way, and this rich regional cultural charm has successfully transformed into an engine for attracting tourists and driving economic development.
According to Meng Fanyuan, manager of the Brand Center Operations Department of Zhangzhou Cultural Tourism and Health Group, the operator of the ancient city, from January 2024 to September 2025, the ancient city received a cumulative total of 53.84 million visitors; in the nearly one year of 2025, the revenue directly driven by intangible cultural heritage exceeded 7.45 million yuan.
Behind this achievement is the ancient city's rich "intangible cultural heritage foundation." Zhangzhou Ancient City boasts seven national-level intangible cultural heritage items, including Gezai opera, glove puppetry, woodblock prints, and Eight Treasures ink paste, as well as two provincial-level intangible cultural heritage items, such as the Zhangzhou-Taiwanese Drum and Umbrella Dance and Zhangzhou Lantern Riddles.
Based on these resources, the ancient city has innovatively created diversified cultural tourism formats. The "front workshop, back shop" model attracts intangible cultural heritage workshops and time-honored brands with preferential rents, creating an immersive consumption scenario of "front yard experience, back yard sales." In the first eight months of this year alone, the total revenue of 10 such shops exceeded 4.54 million yuan.
The ancient city has also innovatively launched the "Southern Fujian Mini-Theater" model, revitalizing the historical building "Xiangyang Theater" and cleverly integrating the three elements of "opera, tea, and art." Tourists can enjoy Southern Fujian Kung Fu tea while watching intangible cultural heritage performances such as glove puppetry. Since its operation this year, the theater has successfully held more than 520 performances, achieving a total revenue of nearly 1 million yuan.
In addition, the ancient city has developed more than 100 cultural and creative products centered around the IP image "Hou Xi," based on the glove puppet. From 2024 to the present, the total revenue of related cultural and creative products has exceeded 2.28 million yuan. In addition to business model innovation, the ancient city has also created a comprehensive intangible cultural heritage experience environment through various means, such as planning high-frequency live performances and continuously incubating brand festivals such as "Southern Fujian New Year Celebration" and "Puppet Carnival," forming a virtuous cycle of cultural inheritance and tourism development.
"The visitor volume exceeding ten million means that Zhangzhou Ancient City has transformed from a geographical location into a powerful cultural destination. Healthy revenue from intangible cultural heritage means that traditional culture can not only survive with dignity but also thrive more gracefully, possessing market-oriented survival capabilities," said Meng Fanyuan.
An innovative "chain" of intangible cultural heritage tourism stemming from a single sheet of paper
In Wuxi Village, Langqiao Town, Jing County, Anhui Province, a "Chinese Xuan Paper Town" is quietly safeguarding an intangible cultural heritage of humanity—the art of Xuan paper making. This ancient technique, dating back to the Tang Dynasty, was included in the first batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage representative projects in 2006.
Amidst the mountains and rivers, a cluster of pure white buildings outlines the unique cultural landmark of the Xuan Paper Town. The architecture cleverly integrates the layered imagery of Xuan paper with the style of Southern Anhui folk houses, resembling a stack of overlapping Xuan paper sheets from a distance. The architectural design won the highest award, the "Da Vinci Award," at the 12th Florence Biennale, becoming a model of the integration of traditional techniques and modern design. In 2024, the town received over 400,000 visitors throughout the year, bringing in nearly 20 million yuan in direct economic benefits.
"Intangible cultural heritage should not be static specimens in a museum," Rong Chao, head of the comprehensive department of the Chinese Xuan Paper Town, told reporters. They have systematically created three themed spaces, allowing visitors not only to observe the ancient processes but also to participate in steps such as paper making and drying, completing their understanding and appreciation of intangible cultural heritage through interaction and experience.
In the skill demonstration area of the Chinese Xuan Paper Museum, visitor Jiang Yaxuan witnessed the complete 108 ancient processes of Xuan paper making, from tree bark to finished paper. "A piece of tree bark, after 108 processes, can be transformed into a sheet of Xuan paper as thin as a cicada's wing. It's truly amazing," she exclaimed. Under the guidance of her master craftsman, she personally experienced the "paper scooping" process. "It looks simple, but the force and angle require meticulous precision," Jiang Yaxuan said sincerely after the experience. "Only by trying it firsthand can you truly understand what craftsmanship means."
What impressed her most was what she saw in the "Hongxing Sanzhangsan" giant Xuan paper production workshop – over 60 craftsmen using the world's largest handmade paper screen to simultaneously produce a giant sheet of Xuan paper 11 meters long and 3.3 meters wide. "At that moment, intangible cultural heritage was no longer just a concept in books, but a tangible, awe-inspiring force of civilization," Jiang Yaxuan said.
To promote the transformation of the intangible cultural heritage economy from "single ticket sales" to "comprehensive consumption," Xuan Paper Town has systematically built a diversified consumption ecosystem, continuously extending the cultural value chain. The town has established more than 10 intangible cultural heritage experience projects, including craftsman lectures, Xuan brush making, and incense and ink making. It has also introduced new business formats such as travel photography services, Xuan paper printing, research-based restaurants, and "Twelve Dishes of Intangible Cultural Heritage" themed dining, and built the "National Paper Riverside" guesthouse to address the shortage of overnight accommodation.
Rong Chao revealed that through systematic business layout, secondary consumption revenue in Xuan Paper Town currently accounts for 40% of the total revenue of the scenic area, forming a healthy and sustainable business model.
"The practice of Xuan Paper Town proves that as long as the right path is found, small counties and towns can also make intangible cultural heritage shine brightly and inject strong cultural momentum into rural revitalization," Rong Chao said.
Tradition is returning to contemporary life in a trendy way.
Yang Hong, director of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Communication Research Center at Communication University of China, pointed out that the integrated development of intangible cultural heritage and tourism in my country has entered a new stage of vigorous development. This trend reflects both the tourism industry's high recognition of the contemporary value and protection achievements of intangible cultural heritage, and the positive role that the tourism industry plays in the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage.
Tu Yanzhen, associate professor at the School of Tourism and Service Management of Nankai University, believes that the consumer power dominated by young people is becoming a new engine for the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage. "More and more young people are willing to 'travel to a city for the sake of an intangible cultural heritage,' and this tourism behavior based on cultural identity reflects that tradition is returning to contemporary life in a trendy way."
Yang Hong stated that China's exploration of the integration of intangible cultural heritage and tourism provides an important reference for global intangible cultural heritage protection. Its sustainable development experience includes: exploring resilient and sustainable development paths; building a development model centered on inheritors and based on communities and local culture, promoting the upgrading of traditional festivals into cultural brands shared by both hosts and guests; and fully demonstrating the dynamic nature of intangible cultural heritage.
It is worth noting that the deep integration of intangible cultural heritage and tourism still faces some practical challenges. Tuo Yanzhen pointed out that the talent issue is a key challenge in the current deep integration of intangible cultural heritage and tourism. "The integrated development of intangible cultural heritage and tourism requires not only the cultivation of representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, but also composite talents who understand intangible cultural heritage, tourism, and operational planning and management. In addition, some intangible cultural heritage projects still offer only superficial experiences, and their marketization and branding capabilities are insufficient, resulting in unsatisfactory economic and social benefits."
"Solving these problems requires the joint efforts of the government, universities, research institutions, representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, associations, and other parties to create a collaborative innovation platform for the integration of intangible cultural heritage and tourism," Tuo Yanzhen said.
