Shandong Launches Cultural Train to Boost Cultural Exchange with Xinjiang

According to China Youth Network, a new cultural tourism train themed on cultural empowerment for Xinjiang officially departed from Daminghu Railway Station in Jinan on May 27. Jointly launched by the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Department of Culture and Tourism, and China Railway Jinan Bureau Group, the event serves as a key 2026 initiative under the national Spring Rain Project.

Launched in 2011 by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Spring Rain Project is a nationwide public welfare programme dedicated to cultural and tourism volunteer services for border regions. It facilitates cross-regional cultural interaction and public cultural resource sharing across ethnic areas. The themed train represents an innovative practice of the project and a core part of Shandong’s strategic transportation and tourism integration programme.

The newly launched service integrates the former Qilu No.1 Tourism Train and cultural heritage research-tour train. The entire carriage space is embedded with distinctive Qilu cultural elements, abandoning static display modes to build a mobile cultural education classroom. It combines interactive experiences and professional knowledge explanations, allowing passengers to experience the profound charm of Shandong’s traditional culture during travel.

From May 27 to June 12, the train will travel across ten prefecture-level regions in Xinjiang. Professional cultural and tourism volunteer teams from Shandong will carry out diversified public welfare activities at every stop, including art performances, tourism promotion, fine art exhibitions, professional art training and genealogical research services, delivering inclusive cultural resources and cross-region emotional bonding.

Tailored passenger services enrich the travel experience. A professional tourism service team offers on-site ethnic dance and folk intangible cultural heritage experience sessions. Each carriage arranges dedicated crew members to provide one-stop personalised services throughout the journey. The train also provides exclusive reading support. Customised reading manuals cover Shandong’s assistance history, recommended book lists, typical aid cases and cross-regional kinship records. Passengers can access over 60 types of free electronic books via QR codes during the trip.

Shandong’s cultural and tourism railway sector will continue expanding featured tourism routes in the near future. More specialised tourism trains targeting Xinjiang, Northeast China and Inner Mongolia will be launched in June. The continuous route optimisation and service upgrading will enrich cross-regional cultural and tourism integration scenarios, further polish the local railway cultural tourism brand and drive in-depth cultural exchanges and tourism cooperation across different regions.