Lang Lang makes a surprise appearance in Gubei Water Town, Beijing, to deliver a stunning message for the global marketing campaign "Heroes of the Great Wall" ...

Lang Lang and a post-90s American director promote Beijing tourism — the "Heroes of the Great Wall Journey" comes to a perfect close

Beijing, June 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The other day,the large-scale O2O global tourism marketing campaign "Heroes of the Great Wall," jointly organized by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development and MasterCard, officially concluded at Gubei Water Town at the foot of Simatai Great Wall. International piano superstar and Beijing tourism ambassador Lang Lang delivered a spectacular performance at the Great Wall Theater, further heating up the atmosphere at the event.

The world's first "Hero of the Great Wall," Sol Hartman, takes a photo with Lang Lang on the Great Wall

Since becoming the Beijing tourism ambassador, Lang Lang has actively participated in and promoted events related to Beijing tourism. As a global ambassador for MasterCard, he has also long been committed to promoting the "Priceless Cities" campaign worldwide to attract global travelers to visit Beijing. Lang Lang personally attended the event, climbing Simatai Great Wall with a post-90s American director and a globetrotter, and performed famous pieces on-site to boost the global promotion of the "Heroes of the Great Wall" campaign.

Beijing boasts seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the most of any city in the world. Among them, the Great Wall, as the foremost of these heritage sites, is a renowned cultural and tourism landmark in China, attracting over ten million visitors annually and serving as Beijing's calling card to the world. Therefore, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development joined hands with MasterCard, an international leading technology payment company, to globally recruit the first "Hero of the Great Wall" to promote Beijing’s international tourism image. Within two months, applications and inquiries were received from 64 countries, including internationally renowned influencers such as Russian photographer Murad Osmann, who sparked the global "hand-in-hand back view" trend, and Australian travel expert Tyson Mayr, who was selected for "The Best Job in the World."

The world's first "Hero of the Great Wall," Sol Hartman, appears at the press conference

Among the many participants, American Sol Hartman was ultimately chosen as the "Hero of the Great Wall." Sol is a filmmaker and globetrotter with over four million followers. A travel enthusiast, he has captured the essence of various popular cities in his video series "Thru My Eyes," which has garnered widespread acclaim online. As the world's first "Hero of the Great Wall," Sol came to Beijing with his girlfriend and documented the entire "Heroes Journey" through his lens. While taking a helicopter ride over the Great Wall, Sol exclaimed, "This is my first time visiting the Great Wall—and my first time flying over it too. It was amazing!"

On this occasion, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development also renewed its memorandum of understanding with MasterCard to jointly leverage their strengths in promoting Beijing’s tourism resources. As a co-organizer of the event, MasterCard provided exclusive "Priceless Beijing" experiences for "Heroes of the Great Wall" cardholders—including "flying over the Great Wall in a helicopter," as well as visits to "Mei Lanfang Theatre – Exploring the Soul of Peking Opera," "Tai Chi and Feng Shui lectures at Temple of Heaven," and "learning to make dumplings in a Hutong courtyard home." "Hero of the Great Wall" Sol and his girlfriend expressed in the interview that they are eagerly anticipating the upcoming "Priceless Beijing" experiences.

"This 'Heroes of the Great Wall' promotional campaign has received an enthusiastic global response, achieving highly successful outreach," said Cao Pengcheng, Deputy Director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development, during a media interview. "On behalf of the Tourism Commission, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Sol and thank him for using vivid and authentic imagery to showcase the beauty of Beijing to the world. Through this campaign, we want to tell the world that Beijing is ready to present more of our high-quality tourism resources. Moving forward, we will integrate resources and collaborate with more outstanding partners like MasterCard to provide global tourists with richer and more culturally profound experiences in Beijing!"

Ms. Wang Rui from the Urban Image and Market Promotion Division of the Beijing Tourism Commission shared with the attending media and guests the background, promotion strategies, and communication effectiveness of the "Heroes of the Great Wall" campaign, including its core focus on the Great Wall, use of internet thinking and new media marketing channels, and broad coverage of target markets to enhance brand awareness and conversion rates. She also expressed sincere gratitude to the supporting organizations of the campaign, represented by Gubei Water Town. Gubei Water Town in Miyun, the grand finale location of the "Heroes of the Great Wall" campaign, benefits from its proximity to Simatai Great Wall and is a top-tier comprehensive international leisure resort destination known for its excellent services, facilities, and high level of participation and experiential offerings. It holds significant potential for international development. The Gubei Water Town (Simatai Great Wall) International Tourism Resort provided Sol with distinctive premium travel experiences such as a night tour of the ancient town and making sand martin kites, which received high praise from him.

Lu Chuan, Director of the Urban Image and Market Promotion Division of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development, also stated:"We must continue to strengthen city-district coordination, expand government-enterprise cooperation, and jointly promote the development of Beijing tourism.".Earlier at the 2016 Beijing Tourism Marketing Work Conference, leaders of the Municipal Tourism Commission also proposed leveraging opportunities such as the China-US Tourism Year to boost inbound tourism to Beijing and optimize its international tourism image. The "Heroes of the Great Wall" campaign responds to this year’s tourism promotion policy, using the Great Wall as a link and focusing on collaboration with Yanqing, Huairou, and Miyun districts to create three official premium Great Wall routes for overseas markets — the "Leftward Path" in Yanqing, the "Hidden Trail" in Huairou, and the "Chasing the Sun" route in Miyun.

The "Heroes of the Great Wall" campaign aligns with current trends in tourism marketing by creating an immersive experiential campaign that integrates four key elements: Experiential, O2O (Online-to-Offline), Social Media, and Influencer marketing. Leveraging the momentum of internet-based marketing, it promotes the visibility and conversion of the Great Wall and its surrounding tourism products. With a trendy marketing approach, it reignites global attention on this ancient site that carries the rich history of Chinese civilization.

For more information, please contact:

Leo Wang | Guru Online
Leowang@guruonline.com.hk

Official website of Beijing Tourism Commission: http://www.bjta.gov.cn/

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