Rushan: Integration of Culture and Tourism Igniting New Development Momentum

RUSHAN, China, Mar. 12, 2024 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/–

The cultural and tourism industry harbors enormous potential for economic growth and serves as a pivotal force to propel economic transformation. In recent years, Rushan, leveraging its abundant cultural and tourism resources, has identified the industry as a crucial pathway for high-quality development. The city has continuously expanded the scale of the industry, optimized its structure, and diversified its layout of businesses. Through the mutual promotion of cultural and tourism industries, it has fostered new growth points.

Rushan has extensively explored its diverse cultural resources, creating a repository and database of cultural and tourism initiatives. The city has methodically upgraded tourist attractions like Silver Beach and Duofu Mountain, while also introducing new experiential projects such as the sea floating bridge and music road to enhance tourism infrastructure. Moreover, it has focused on developing 11 rural tourism observation platforms and 5 rural self-driving stations, along with constructing over 180 sites including pocket parks, rural complexes, and leisure picking gardens, thereby creating the distinctive cultural tourism brand “Rushan Gifts”, effectively stimulating vitality in the cultural tourism market.

“This year, we will further intensify efforts in the development of cultural and tourism projects. We will revitalize the operation of the Haicubic Amusement Park, restore and open the 103 Ship (Changchun destroyer), inaugurate the food street at the Beidou Bay Sports Park, and promote the decoration and operation of commercial supporting facilities such as the Peninsula Ruijing Hotel and Jinding Yinxiu Commercial City, enhancing Rushan’s tourism carrying capacity”,  stated a responsible person from Rushan. Furthermore, Rushan is vigorously implementing the “Cultural Tourism + Sports Events” strategy, introducing professional events and nurturing branded events. It has successively hosted a variety of national and provincial events such as the Women’s Half Marathon, the National Paddle board U Series (Rushan Station), the Shandong Provincial Beach Volleyball Championship, and the “Coastal Wonderland of the Most Beautiful Silver Beach” Shandong Coastal Cycling Race. These events have evolved into branded attractions, drawing nearly 6,000 domestic and foreign athletes to Rushan. With over 100,000 spectators travelling from various locations to witness the excitement, they have significantly contributed to the tourism surge in Rushan City.