"The Sky City" Litang Makes a Stunning Debut at the 2019 Self-Drive Travel Conference

From March 5th to 6th, the 2019 Self-Drive Travel Conference, hosted by Aijia Media, was successfully held at the Shanghai Poly Grand Theater. Themed "Reinvention," the conference attracted over a thousand participants, including government officials, decision-makers in the self-drive travel industry, club leaders, driving enthusiasts, investors, and media professionals. This grand festival, set against the backdrop of the integration of culture and tourism, refreshed the industry's understanding of self-drive travel and rebuilt confidence in perfecting the industry ecosystem. The delegation from Litang County, Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province—the "World's High City" and the ultimate destination along the 318 Highway—participated in the conference, showcasing the unique charm of the "Sky City" to all guests.

 

On the morning of the 5th, during the official press conference, traditional Tibetan opera performances and duets of poems by Tsangyang Gyatso brought by Litang delighted the audience, journalists, and media.

Litang’s little celebrity, 8-year-old Xiaoyangjin, is a young tour guide on Renkang Ancient Street in Litang. She was selected from over 1,000 young guides. At the conference, she vividly introduced Litang’s scenery, culture, and beauty, as well as the story of Tsangyang Gyatso and Litang. Xiaoyangjin said she loves introducing Litang to everyone. Although her grandmother doesn’t understand Mandarin, she still fully supports her way of expressing her love for Litang.

 

This is also a unique collaboration between Litang’s Lertong Ancient Town and local residents. Mr. Zhang Xi, Chairman of the Litang State-Owned Assets Operation and Investment Management Group Co., Ltd., explained to the media that they adhere to the principle of deep local participation, providing diverse job positions—from ancient town guides to Tibetan opera performances and handicraft making—to preserve the authentic flavor of the ancient town. This allows visitors to deeply experience local culture without a overly commercialized mindset, while also enabling locals to maintain their traditional way of life.

 

On the afternoon of the 5th, at the 2019 Self-Drive Travel Conference • Awards Ceremony, Mr. Li Keqi, founder of Aijia Media, led everyone in reviewing the journey and evolution of the awards, explaining the new selection criteria and award categories. Building on previous years’ selections, 36 routes were reconstructed, extracted, reorganized, and reshaped from the 180 routes accumulated over the past five years. Litang also became a must-visit destination on the "Sichuan-Tibet Highway" within the "2019 Aijia Drivers' Lifetime Must-Drive 36."

 

In addition to announcing the 36 "Lifetime Must-Drive" routes for 2019, this year’s organizing committee also introduced 36 special awards to recognize organizations, enterprises, and individuals with outstanding achievements and special contributions in the field of self-drive travel. Litang, along with six other management entities—Ningguo, Chengde, Wenzhou, Gansu, and Chongqing—was awarded the "Resource Management Award."

Subsequently, a performance of "Tsangyang Gyatso’s Love Songs" by Litang singers echoed through the Poly Grand Theater.

 

Known throughout the plateau as the "City of Love" due to Tsangyang Gyatso’s reincarnation here, Litang has a long-standing tradition of love song duets.

 

Since 2016, Aijia Media has been dedicated to building the "National Highway G318" IP. This year’s self-drive travel conference specially curated the first "National Highway G318" themed exhibition. A series of Tibetan cultural items brought by Litang—including Tibetan opera masks, stone carvings, and thangkas—caught the attention of many attendees. A thangka master from Litang even demonstrated thangka painting techniques on-site, treating the audience to a visual feast.

This time, Litang’s arrival in Shanghai, the "Magic City," and its stunning debut at the 2019 Self-Drive Travel Conference allowed all attendees to experience the rich Tibetan culture and simple ethnic customs of Litang.

 

Litang, a must-pass route along the 318 "National Highway," is located at the intersection of National Highway 318 and National Highway 217, which leads to Daocheng Yading and Shangri-La. It has long been known as the crossroads of eastern Tibet. Situated 500 kilometers from Chengdu and 1,500 kilometers from Lhasa, it boasts an altitude of over 4,000 meters, making it the highest city along the 318 Highway.

 

This "city suspended in the sky" has been a key hub of the ancient tea-horse trade since ancient times. In summer, the grasslands of Maoya bloom with vibrant cosmos flowers, while the distant Mount Ge’nyen shines with silvery light. Amid the rosy hues of the horizon lies the pure land of the Supreme Joy Mandala where the Buddhas reside. Galloping across the land, one sees vast pastures, the majestic Wujiang River, and the warm, hospitable "highland red" faces. "Give me the wings of a white crane, I want to fly to a distant place, not anywhere else, just to take one look at beautiful Litang..." Only by visiting Litang can one truly understand why Tsangyang Gyatso yearned for this "Sky High City" all his life.

 

In recent years, Litang has focused on developing all-for-one tourism. Centered around Renkang Ancient Street, the reincarnation site of Tsangyang Gyatso, and leveraging resources such as the largest temple on the 318 Highway—Changqingxiang Ke’er Monastery—and the largest traditional Tibetan village—Qianhu Tibetan Village—Litang targets emerging self-drive tourists, experiential travelers, and in-depth explorers. The goal is to create the best service, experience, and cultural exploration destination along the 318 Highway.

 

If you don’t drive the 318, you don’t truly know China. If you don’t visit Litang, you won’t understand the 318.

 

Organizers

 

Aijia Media

 

Special Thanks

 

Jiading District Tourism Bureau, Anting Town People’s Government, Shanghai International Automobile City, Shanghai Poly Grand Theater

 

Strategic Cooperation

 

Cyber Culture Travel & Haohao Life, SMART Resort Real Estate Expert Committee, ZhiXue Academy, Camping World, Baidu Maps, China International Business Travel Alliance, International Mountain Tourism Alliance, Home Inns & Hotels, Ruili CAS Modified Car Exhibition, AC Automotive, Zhihui, Five-Star Legend

 

Event Support

 

Garzê Prefecture Tourism Development Commission, CPC Litang County Committee, Litang County People’s Government

 

Self-Drive Travel Industry Report Lead

 

Yunjie Liangshu

 

Customized premium Baijiu (Chinese liquor)

 

Guizhou Fushengtai Liquor Co., Ltd.

 

Designated AI tea set brand

 

Chami

 

Designated wellness brand

 

Perilla Wellness

 

Designated five-star hotel

 

Hyatt Regency Jiading

 

Special domestic promotional support

 

Focus Media

 

Special domestic promotional support

 

Xuyang Media

 

Special overseas promotional support

 

Beijing Lutu Advertising Media Co., Ltd.

 

Official designated instant imaging partner

 

VPhoto Cloud Photography

 

Intelligent voice partner

 

iFlytek Tingting

 

Government public affairs coordination body

 

Gewu Cultural Research Institute

 

Internet+ cultural platform

 

Culture Cloud

 

Exclusive automotive media

 

Jiche Channel

 

Conference insurance support

 

China Life Property & Casualty · Self-Drive Carefree Travel Protection Plan

 

Official designated tent supplier

 

Shanghai Xiangwu Construction Technology Co., Ltd.

 

Audiovisual support

 

Shanghai Qinchun Culture Communication Co., Ltd.

 

Official video team

 

Shanghai Yizuo Yizu Culture Media Co., Ltd.

 

Shanghai Xinzhi Culture Communication Co., Ltd.

 

Sound design

 

Esound Yisheng Culture

 

Font collaboration

 

Han Yi Font Library

 

Conference system support

 

31 Conference

 

Partners

 

Tencent Connected Car, Growth Club, Aiche Global Self-driving Automobile Culture (Group) Club, Yuanmeng Kangjian, North Latitude Twenty-One Tea Industry, Chengdu Dianxing Club, Hong Kong Rosy Business Limited, Xingzhe Wujian (Lianyungang), Gansu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, Jackie Chan DC Racing Team, Keye Culture, Cai Cai Mobile Photography, PANUM ROVER Kuma Equipment, Jinhuitong Aviation, Letu Outdoor Club, China Tourism Hundred People Club, Hook Road, Han Wei Racing, Shanghai Fanzhu Culture Media Co., Ltd., Orion, Earth Surface Diver, S-POWER Tuning, Earth Password Exploration Team, China 599 Car Club, Chuanyue Car Club China, Totoro Classmates, Enshi Grand Canyon Tourism Development Co., Ltd., China Xuan Paper Co., Ltd., Pingwang Town People's Government, Xili Sand Painting, Shanghai Yangtze River Delta Tourism Development Research Center, People's Daily App, "Car Intelligence" Magazine, Changduan, "Off-Road World" Magazine