Qianzhou Ancient Town sees booming night economy

Qianzhou Ancient Town in Jishou City of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture is surrounded by mountains and Tianxing and Wanrong rivers, with a basin in its middle.

It has made efforts to establish the industrial system of “night scenery, night shows, night banquets, night shopping, night entertainment, and night accommodation”, in a bid to create a diversified night economy with multiple business forms in the ancient town, and advance the high-quality development of the cultural and tourism industry. In 2023, Qianzhou Ancient Town achieved a turnover of 55 million yuan, with night revenue accounting for 85.5%.

Tourists can stroll on the bluestone roads, take photos by the lotus pond and on the arch bridge, take boats on the Wanrong River, and taste specialty snacks such as pork patties with preserved vegetables, sour radishes, and grilled skewers in the food street in the evenings.

The prosperity of night economy in Qianzhou Ancient Town is due to the enrichment of tourism scenes and products.

In recent years, it has improved the quality of its basic supporting service facilities as well as night lighting facilities, and beautified its core lines as well as commercial streets, attracting numerous tourists. According to the head of a tourism company in the ancient town, there are 4 commercial streets and 410 shops in the night culture and tourism consumption gathering area, including more than 100 restaurants, and more than 100 intangible cultural heritage and local specialty stores with Xiangxi characteristics selling Miao clothing, silver jewelry, golden tea, preserved meat, and liquor. The numbers of cultural shops and night shops account for over 65% and 80% respectively.

The large-scale water live-action light and shadow show of the story of Luo Rongguang, a hero of Qianzhou Ancient Town, is astonishing. The drones line up in formation to form  patterns and words in various colors in the night sky.

Since 2022, Qianzhou Ancient Town has been creating a series of “night performances”, among which the “Rongguang Qiancheng” light and shadow show has become a unique cultural and tourism highlight, attracting tourists from all over the country. Qianzhou was once an ancient county town of Jishou City, a sturdy fortress during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and a stronghold of the Southern Great Wall.

The current Qianzhou Ancient Town covers an area of 52,000 square meters, mainly including Qiancheng Street, Xiangxi Ever-bright City, and Rongjiang River.

Last year, it was included in the first provincial-level night culture and tourism consumption clusters. During holidays, the ancient town has seized opportunities to develop the night economy and launched the “Qianzhou Lantern Show”. Besides, Xiangxi Ever-bright City has held hot pot festivals, food culture festivals, and other popular events to promote local food. Qianzhou Ancient Town has set up a grand stage for new formats such as live streaming. Tang Yi, a livestreamer with tens of millions of fans on Douyin, has done livestreaming here for many times. More and more citizens and tourists have also become the spokesmen of Qianzhou, presenting exquisite aerial photos of the night scene of the ancient city and providing detailed night tour strategies for netizens.

Qianzhou Ancient Town will make efforts to enrich diverse characteristic “night” activities based on local culture, and develop its own brands to draw more tourists.