Shandong Innovates Cultural and Tourism Integration to Boost Cultural Heritage Vitalization

With the continuous rise of experience economy as a new engine for activating cultural and tourism consumption, Shandong Province has been exploring innovative practices in cultural inheritance, protection and utilization. Typical cases from the 7th Shandong Provincial Cultural Innovation Award have shown remarkable achievements in integrating culture with tourism, turning cultural soft power into industrial hard support.

Weifang Kite, a national intangible cultural heritage and core symbol of the “World Kite Capital”, has realized in-depth integration of culture and industry through cultural gene decoding. Its achievements have been applied in ten scenarios including tourism, cultural and creative products, exhibitions and international exchanges, attracting over 2 million tourists annually via kite-themed routes, launching more than 200 cultural and creative products with an annual output value exceeding 500 million yuan, and reaching more than 30 countries and regions globally.

In Zibo, the Hongye Shiyan Tourist Area has gained popularity with its performance “Fantasy Liaozhai”, co-created with a renowned team based on Pu Songling, a Zibo-born literary figure known as the “king of world short stories”, and his work “Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio”. The musical combines comedy elements to realize the youthful expression of traditional culture, attracting 1.7 million tourists and generating 140 million yuan in comprehensive income by the end of last year, while driving over 2,500 jobs.

Tai’an’s city mascot “Gangan Dangdang” is based on the agarwood lions, a national first-class cultural relic and one of the three treasures of Mount Tai bestowed by Emperor Qianlong, integrating Qin-Han calligraphy art with modern national trend language. It has effectively solved the difficulties of activating traditional culture and gaining recognition among young people.

The “Great River Up and Down” metaverse performance project, located at the foot of Mount Tai and by the Yellow River, presents a 70-minute epic show and four other performances, forming an immersive experience covering land, water and air. As Shandong’s only large-scale epic scene play with Yellow River culture as its theme, it is expected to receive 800,000 tourists annually and drive 1,000 direct jobs.

Rizhao has promoted rural cultural revitalization through art integration, creating five types of rural cultural models and five art-based formats such as “art + homestay clusters” and “art + festival activities”. Its Lingyang Osmanthus Festival, integrating antiques and food culture, attracts over 100,000 tourists annually.

Yantai’s “Hao Ke Shandong · Peninsula No.1” maritime tour, which set sail in late July last year, connects four cities with five routes, linking more than 40 landmarks and 14 high-level scenic spots, with an average occupancy rate exceeding 80% during peak seasons. Dongying’s “Art Museum +” model has achieved the integration of multiple formats, attracting 52,300 visitors during this year’s Spring Festival and driving over 200,000 yuan in cultural and creative consumption.