[Reported by Beijing Tourism Network] On May 19, the launch ceremony of the 2019 "China Tourism Day" and the "Tourism into Communities" series of events, jointly organized by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and the People's Government of Tongzhou District, was held at the Han Meilin Art Museum in Beijing. The theme of the event was "Cultural and Tourism Integration for a Better Life." Leveraging the opportunity of China Tourism Day, the event continued to drive deeper integration between culture and tourism. On the day of the event, over a thousand participants attended the launch ceremony, including cultural tourism professionals, museum experts, young tourism volunteers, community residents, travel agencies, tourism enterprises, and media.

Meeting the Needs of the Times, Enhancing People’s Quality of Life

Beijing boasts abundant cultural resources and a huge tourism market. With rich historical and cultural assets, diverse scenic spots and parks, distinctive catering and hospitality sectors, thriving rural cultural tourism, broad prospects in performing arts and film tourism, strong research capabilities in cultural tourism, and abundant talent resources, these features and advantages provide solid support for the sustained and healthy development of the capital’s cultural tourism industry.

Entering the new era, the principal contradiction in society has transformed into the contradiction between people’s ever-growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development. As an industry serving people’s pursuit of a better life, cultural tourism also needs transformation and upgrading. In recent years, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism has actively responded to the needs of the times. By introducing policies and fostering new business formats, it has strived to promote the upgrade of the cultural tourism industry, better meeting the growing spiritual needs of the people.

Integrated Cultural and Tourism Development for Shared Prosperity

Advancing the deep integration of culture and tourism is a strategic choice for high-quality development in the capital. The fusion of culture and tourism is a key focus of high-quality development. Tourism should not only be integrated into the cultural industry to enhance creative levels and cultural content but also into cultural programs, using the market-oriented operations of tourism to support cultural initiatives. Culture, in turn, should be infused into all aspects of tourism—"food, accommodation, transportation, sightseeing, shopping, and entertainment"—to elevate its depth and creativity. Efforts should be made to establish a two-way, mutually reinforcing development model of "culture + tourism," converting cultural resources into tourism products, improving visitor experiences, and achieving the goal of "promoting tourism through culture and highlighting culture through tourism."

At the launch ceremony of the 2019 "China Tourism Day" and "Tourism into Communities" series, Song Yu, Director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, stated that promoting the integrated development of the capital’s cultural and tourism industries is not only an important decision by the Party Central Committee, the Municipal Party Committee, and the Municipal Government but also a sacred mission entrusted to us by history. Especially under the guidance of advancing the construction of the national cultural center, we must deeply explore our rich historical and cultural resources, and through "going global" and "bringing in," tell the story of Beijing, spread its voice, showcase its image, and continuously enhance the international influence of the capital’s cultural tourism.

Tongzhou District, the main venue for this year’s Beijing "China Tourism Day" event, has achieved notable results in cultural and tourism integration in recent years. Within the scope of Beijing’s sub-center, a 12-square-kilometer Tongzhou Cultural Tourism Zone has been planned, which includes the highly anticipated Universal Studios theme park. Most of the municipal infrastructure in the cultural tourism zone has started construction. Additionally, efforts will be made to create a Tongzhou cultural tourism hub through the protection and inheritance of historical culture and accelerating the development of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt.

The 9th China Tourism Day Continues to Benefit the People

The philosophy of the 2019 "China Tourism Day" event is to advocate for a better life, giving residents tangible satisfaction in tourism. The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism continues to enhance the public’s sense of gain and happiness by implementing a series of tourism measures that benefit the people. On China Tourism Day, in addition to the usual half-price or free entry to certain attractions and museums, special events such as performances, fruit picking, and family activities will be offered. While improving service quality, more quality products and services will be brought to Beijing communities, making tourism a new driving force for enhancing people’s quality of life.

On the day of the event, attending leaders and guests, together with more than forty students, jointly painted a Beijing cultural tourism scroll symbolizing the integration of culture and tourism, themed "Cultural Tourism Is Right Around Us." The scroll featured iconic Beijing cultural tourism landmarks such as the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven, showcasing the cultural tourism charm of the Beijing area to the general public and visitors.

In addition, compared to previous years, this year’s "China Tourism Day" has the following highlights.

I. A Series of Events under the "1+15+81+N" Framework Adds Color to Tourism Day

On the day of the event, the organizers launched a series of activities for "5·19 China Tourism Day," which can be summarized as "1+15+81+N."

Here, "1" refers to the Beijing sub-venue in Tongzhou, "15" denotes the 15 other districts in Beijing excluding Tongzhou, each hosting their own themed events, "81" indicates that 73 4A-level and 8 5A-level scenic spots across Beijing simultaneously carried out "5·19 China Tourism Day" promotional activities, optimizing tourism products and enhancing service quality to offer visitors a better experience; "N" refers to various activities and people-benefiting measures introduced by cultural and tourism bureaus in each district based on local conditions, such as the China Red Sandalwood Museum offering free entry on "5·19 China Tourism Day" in Chaoyang District, and Fengtai District offering free visits to the Beijing Auto Museum for all citizens and tourists, who could enter by collecting tickets on-site or making online reservations.

According to reports, the public welfare and people-benefiting measures introduced in this event mainly include four categories: first, preferential measures such as discounted or free entry to scenic spots; second, tourism initiatives for poverty alleviation and disability support; third, preferential measures for advanced groups such as model workers and outstanding contributors; and fourth, cultural people-benefiting measures such as public welfare performances and free access to public cultural venues.

II. Diverse Information and Exhibition Areas Provide Cultural Tourism Consultation for Residents

Cultural tourism authorities from all districts of the city and renowned Beijing travel agencies offered a wide range of tourism products and consultation services to the public and tourists. The Legal Affairs Division of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and the Beijing Tourism Consultation Service Center provided legal consultation services related to cultural tourism. Officers from the Environmental, Food, Drug, and Tourism Security Corps of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau explained the harms of illegal one-day tours and distributed materials on combating "illegal one-day tours" in Beijing. Volunteers at the service booths distributed informational materials to promote the concepts of civilized tourism, safe tourism, and tourism volunteerism.

Cultural and tourism bureaus in each district actively planned and mobilized around the theme of "Cultural and Tourism Integration for a Better Life," showcasing a wealth of new tourism products, emerging formats, and achievements in integrated cultural and tourism development.

Additionally, a cultural tourism public benefit information and exhibition area was set up at Liyuan Theme Park in Tongzhou District.Intangible cultural heritage inheritors performed captivating displays of Beijing silk figurines and diabolo spinning for residents, adding a cultural touch to the China Tourism Day information and exhibition area.

3. The First Stop of the “Museums Go to Communities” Event Officially Kicks Off

As a key component of the tourism-in-communities initiative, the first cultural and museum event was also launched on-site during China Tourism Day. Nearly 100 local residents visited the Han Meilin Art Museum in Beijing under the guidance of professional docents. The “Museum Passport Check-in Program” was launched on-site, allowing participants to collect artwork information during their visit. By completing the passport check-ins, they could redeem small museum-themed souvenirs. Through a variety of engaging museum interactive activities, residents learned about the historical context and artistic charm of ancient rock art, and even hands-on experienced rock art creation, embarking on a uniquely distinctive cultural and museum journey.

A relevant official from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism stated, “As culture and tourism become further integrated, the importance of museum-based tourism continues to grow. The traditional approach of simply ‘visiting museums’ in a cursory manner can no longer meet the increasing demands of the public for museum tourism. Innovative designs, fun interactions, and captivating guided services are new requirements that today’s society has for museum tourism. The deep integration of culture and tourism is also the starting point for our design of this series of ‘Museums Go to Communities’ events.”

It is reported that this tourism-in-communities event will set up a window for showcasing cultural and museum tourism right at residents’ doorsteps, enabling them to appreciate Beijing’s urban history and culture without leaving their neighborhoods, deeply experience the charm of Beijing’s cultural tourism, and feel the refined, harmonious, ambitious, and open humanistic spirit of the new era.

By providing community-based cultural tourism services, tourism products with cultural essence are brought into communities, the concept of cultural tourism is rooted in the hearts of residents, and knowledge and information about cultural tourism are delivered to them—ensuring that cultural tourism services truly benefit every community resident.

On China Tourism Day 2019, a total of 37 scenic spots and cultural venues across 12 districts in Beijing released policies offering benefits to the public. Below is a summary of some of these benefit policies.

Beijing “5·19 China Tourism Day” Benefit Policies by District

Dongcheng District: Confucius Temple and Imperial College Museum—Free admission on the day with a Beijing Card or resident ID card.

Chaoyang District: Free entry to China Red Sandalwood Museum on the day. Beijing Happy Valley launched a series of promotions with the longest validity period extending until September 1, 2019.

Haidian District: Kuangbiao Amusement Park—Free admission on the day; discounted prices for rides, accommodation, and dining.

Fengtai District: Beijing Auto Museum—Free admission on the day, with no age restrictions. The free museum visit event for all citizens and tourists is available via on-site ticket collection or online reservation.

Tongzhou District: Beijing Herui Valley Technology Development Co., Ltd.—Vegetable picking activities on the day, with free admission and 20% off for picking.

Shunyi District: On the day, both the Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park and Beijing International Flower Port offered free admission to model workers, advanced individuals, active-duty military personnel, disabled veterans, people with disabilities, and seniors aged 60 and above (all must present valid ID).

Daxing District: Discounted tickets for Beijing Wildlife Park available for online purchase on the day.

Changping District: On the day, the 2+1 Family Ticket originally priced at 590 RMB at Ledou Harbor Fantasy Park was discounted to 458 RMB; the 1+1 Family Ticket originally priced at 370 RMB was discounted to 298 RMB; the 2-person Night Ticket originally priced at 240 RMB was discounted to 128 RMB; the Night Ticket originally priced at 120 RMB was discounted to 98 RMB; all annual passes were 50% off.

Pinggu District: Jingshan Grand Canyon—Children under 1.2 meters (inclusive) are admitted free; people with disabilities are admitted free with valid ID; retired personnel are admitted free with credentials; seniors receive half-price admission with a senior ID, or half-price with ID if over 65 without a senior ID; full-time undergraduate students and below receive half-price admission with student ID, as do active-duty military personnel with credentials; the Yuzishan Anti-Japanese War Memorial Museum is open free of charge.

Miyun District: Xianjugu Scenic Area—Free admission on the day.

Yanqing District: World Grape Expo Park—Visitors enjoy 20% off admission on the day.