Cultural journeys through heritage

China has inscribed 55 sites on the UNESCO World Heritage list. And the State Council has named more than 1,300 national-level intangible cultural heritage items since 2006.

The State Council's notice for the 2016-20 tourism-development plan and the administration methods for national cultural and ecological reserves developed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2018 both emphasize intangible cultural heritage and tourism integration.

Tourism products combining intangible cultural heritage with study tours, homestays, art performances and creative-art products have continued flourishing.

Income from cultural and creative products related to the Forbidden City in Beijing reached 1.5 billion yuan in 2017.

Growing cultural-tourism consumption offers promising prospects, tourism specialist Huang Zhiyuan says.

Modern technology has also helped to better display cultural charms.

The virtual tours and digitalization have brought the splendid artistic and cultural legacy of Gansu province's Dunhuang, home to the UNESCO World Heritage site, the Mogao Grottoes, to a wider audience.

Dunhuang Academy and Huawei recently launched a virtual-tour experience of the site.

Visitors can enjoy an immersive fantasy before entering the attraction. They can see Dunhuang's murals from outside the caves using their Huawei smartphones. This reduces the time tourists spend inside the caverns, consequently protecting the relics while increasing the information available.