First, let me explain "Xiaohongxian." It means small investment, internet celebrity appeal, and focus on leisure. I think this concept is very well put and should be promoted and popularized in the tourism industry. It accurately summarizes what kind of tourism projects should be invested in in the future.

In fact, many new terms proposed in the tourism industry now have the attributes of Xiaohongxian, such as micro-vacation, micro-tourism, light tourism, urban new tourism, internet celebrity check-in spots, surrounding tours, immersive tourism, night-time economy, new leisure... Xiaohongxian is not a type of business, but a new concept for the development of tourism projects under the new situation.

The above briefly lists some demonstration cases of Xiaohongxian. Of course, its types are not limited to these, such as national tide cultural blocks, characteristic accommodations, immersive light and shadow shows, new cultural, commercial, and tourism scenes, outdoor leisure sports, and internet celebrity check-in spots.

Four Investment Changes

Several guests have just mentioned several basic principles for future investment in tourism projects, such as small investment and leisure. Why? There are several changes here.

First the process of urbanization is nearing its end. To put it figuratively, during the past stage of rapid urbanization, two large water pipes poured water into the pool of the tourism industry: real estate and local governments and urban investment. Tourism investment experienced a period of super-high growth. Now, both of these water pipes have run dry. In the future, tourism investment must rely on the real market demand. Those large tourism projects with tens or hundreds of billions of dollars of investment will be difficult to see again. Invest in projects based on the actual demand, and invest where the demand is increasing.

Second leisure is the largest increase in consumption today. Leisure is a demand that accompanies the urban lifestyle. In the past, China's urbanization was simply "human urbanization." Next, we need to carry out "urbanization of people's lifestyles." In recent years, there have been many buzzwords on the internet, such as relaxation, lying flat, and Buddhism. These actually reflect the transformation of urban lifestyles. The tense and tiring urban lifestyle is not what we want. We need more leisure and entertainment, and more space for relaxation. This is an inevitable stage of urban development.

Third tourism has entered the era of stock. In the past, the two pipes of real estate and local urban investment brought a lot of stock assets to tourism. Not only in the tourism field, but also in various industries, there are many stock assets waiting to be revitalized. Last year, the State Council issued a special document emphasizing the revitalization of stock assets and the expansion of effective investment. Stock assets and Xiaohongxian are a good combination. Stock assets solve the investment in basic hardware, reducing various development costs, so Xiaohongxian can carry out low-cost embedded development.

Fourth the new media-based marketing methods. Last year, many tourist attractions and destinations became popular online, almost in a relay race. The way they became popular was not through advertising, but through the participation of netizens, fans, media/self-media, bloggers, online platforms, and relevant local departments, forming a "tidal wave." This way of dissemination is very consistent with the characteristics of Xiaohongxian, such as novel scenes, strong sense of experience, and desire to share.

Six Project Cases

Next, I will give a few specific examples.

Zhuozheng Wenya

Zhuozheng Wenya is a night tour project of Zhuozheng Garden that opened in 2021. We know that night tours and immersive light and shadow shows are projects with a strong visual impact. After opening, the popularity will be high for a while, but whether it can continue to be popular is the key issue. Zhuozheng Wenya is a project that can continue to be popular and is becoming more and more popular.

It is different from other night tour projects in that general night tour projects emphasize lighting and visual effects, with lighting as the protagonist. The Zhuozheng Wenya project emphasizes "touring." The lighting is not dazzling at all, and it is even very dim. It requires a tour guide to lead groups of people in to experience it. The focus is still on Zhuozheng Garden itself, and the lighting only renders the quiet and tranquil atmosphere of Zhuozheng Garden at night.

This difference is significant because if the focus is on the lighting, then the lighting effects can be replicated anywhere. Xiaohongxian is most afraid of a project becoming popular and a bunch of projects following suit. If the focus is on Zhuozheng Garden, then Zhuozheng Garden is irreplaceable, especially the quiet and tranquil spirit of Suzhou gardens at night. Therefore, if you have the opportunity, you should definitely experience it and see how night tour projects can truly integrate with the characteristics and cultural depth of the scenic area.

Unsurpassed Longmen

Unsurpassed Longmen is a bare-eye 3D sky screen cinema project opened in 2021 by Dalian Botao Culture Development, located in Longmen Ancient Street next to Longmen Grottoes. Unsurpassed Longmen is a typical Xiaohongxian project embedded in stock assets, with a total investment of about 30 million yuan and an area of more than 1,000 square meters. To judge the quality of Xiaohongxian projects, one cannot only look at the opening, but also at the operation after one or two years. At the beginning, everyone has a sense of novelty, marketing keeps up, product quality keeps up, and everyone will experience it. However, Xiaohongxian projects need a certain repurchase rate to be considered good projects.

Unsurpassed Longmen has done a good job in this aspect. On the one hand, it is located next to Longmen Grottoes, attracting both long-term and local customers. On the other hand, it continuously optimizes and updates its content and plans the development of the second phase project to drive customer repurchase and return visits.

The reason why this project has continuous repurchase is based on the strong content production capacity of Dalian Botao Culture. Dalian Botao Culture itself started with multimedia films, and creating high-quality content is its specialty. This project actually represents an important direction of Xiaohongxian: combining with traditional popular scenic areas to carry out embedded development. Of course, the premise is that your product experience is good enough.

Wansui Mountain Wuxia City

Wansui Mountain Wuxia City is located in Kaifeng, next to Qingming Shanghe Garden, which is currently the hottest tourist attraction. Yesterday (March 20), it also topped the Douyin hot search list. Its interactive talk show "Wang Po Says Matchmaking" has been repeatedly forwarded by major central and state-owned media. During this year's Spring Festival, they received 730,000 tourists in 8 days, averaging 90,000 people per day. This is still the result of efforts to limit the flow. Why is Wansui Mountain Wuxia City so popular? I think they are the "Fat Donglai" of the tourism industry.

This scenic area's investment wasn't large, with an initial investment of 40 million yuan, followed by continuous upgrades and renovations, mainly in performances. Overall, it's a small-investment, high-traffic project. Wansui Mountain Wuxia City didn't spend money on beautiful scenery, so the park is somewhat 'rustic', but this rusticity conveys simplicity and authenticity. For a ticket price of 60 yuan, you can watch over 80 performances, including various acrobatics, martial arts, magic, dance, performances, situational dramas, and stand-up comedy.

Performances are the core experience of Wansui Mountain, almost constantly taking place. Tourists often encounter a performance every few steps, and the actors perform with great effort, emphasizing sincerity over formulaic routines. The program style is very popular, incorporating story elements from Water Margin, historical anecdotes, popular martial arts films, and Seven Heroes and Five Gallants, focusing on liveliness and down-to-earth appeal.

Not only are the ticket prices low, but the prices of goods are also exceptionally cheap, with food and merchandise even cheaper than outside the scenic area. With such cheap ticket and goods prices, such rich performances, and actors who are sincere and dedicated, and a lively and joyful atmosphere, the scenic area has become increasingly popular online. Now, their biggest concern is the excessive number of tourists, which is affecting the visitor experience. They are now raising the ticket price to 80 yuan, hoping to limit the number of visitors through price increases.

Make Hole Academy

Make Hole Academy is a rather unique 'small red idle' project. It's not actually a tourism project, but a showroom for the home furnishing company, Make Home, located next to the very central Qiaofoo Fangcaodi shopping district in Beijing, and opened in 2021. Although not a tourism project, it offers valuable insights into creating 'small red idle' projects. Make Hole Academy is a result of the renovation of the former Bai Na Hui computer mall, a type of urban renewal project that revitalizes old shopping malls through business model innovation.

This project is characterized by its high aesthetic value, designed by Make Home's chairman, Feng Dongming, who has a degree in oil painting. The exterior of Make Hole Academy is themed on a sailboat, with a simple, stylish design, beautiful contours, and a strong landmark feel. The interior of the building is themed on the human cave-dwelling era and Kizil Grottoes murals, using the building's structure and natural light to create a unique cave-like atmosphere. The showroom incorporates numerous large Kizil Grottoes murals and installation art. To ensure the authenticity of the Kizil Grottoes murals, over 60 tons of soil from Xinjiang were transported.

Make Hole Academy also features an art gallery, a stylish book bar, a creative store, a cafe, an open-air garden bar, and a Silk Road-themed restaurant, forming a culturally rich artistic and leisure space.

Although this project has an investment of 300 million yuan, it's not considered a 'small' red idle project. However, since it's a home furnishing showroom, it has stronger consumption capacity and investment recovery channels, making the 300 million yuan investment relatively reasonable. However, this project was not initially designed with tourist groups in mind; its main target customers are home furnishing consumers and those interested in art viewing, salons, tastings, and cultural activities. This makes it more popular in the architecture, art, and home furnishing circles, while the general public is less aware of it.

Beijing Tongzhou Apelang Creativity Park

Beijing Tongzhou Apelang Creativity Park is another typical example of a 'small red idle' project, created by Beijing Apelang Creativity Technology Company, targeting families with children. This 60-million-yuan investment, 120-mu outdoor family park is embedded in Beijing Tongzhou's Green Heart Park.

Families with children are a highly consumer-driven group in the tourism and leisure sector. There is no shortage of demand in this area, only a lack of high-quality products. In the past, family parks suffered from severe homogeneity and limited functionality. Apelang is the first company in China to integrate AI, creativity, and family parks into one intelligent play space.

Through five years of independent research and development, Apelang has developed almost a complete set of software and hardware facilities and a digital base for family parks, aiming to integrate 'creativity' into every corner of the park, allowing children to gain not only happiness but also improved creativity. At the same time, Apelang extensively uses AI technology and develops AI courses, allowing children to experience, use, and learn AI, cultivating their curiosity about knowledge and understanding of cutting-edge technology from a young age.

It can be said that Beijing Tongzhou Apelang Creativity Park, based on high aesthetic value and high entertainment, has broken through the homogeneity of family parks and raised the technological content and functionality of family parks.

Shenzhen Nantou Ancient City

The investment in Shenzhen Nantou Ancient City is also substantial, approximately 1 billion yuan, but about 700 million yuan is government investment, part of the government's urban village renovation expenditure. We know that many cities now face the problem of urban village renovation, and the government also has corresponding budgets. So how can this budget be used more effectively? 'Small red idle' projects are an important direction.

The government invested 700 million yuan in infrastructure improvements and resident relocation, while Vanke invested approximately 300 million yuan in transforming small-property-right houses reclaimed from residents into urban apartments. The rent from these apartments is the foundation for the operation of Nantou Ancient City. In this way, although the total investment is considerable, this part of the investment does not need to rely on the tourism and leisure industry for recovery. In this sense, Nantou Ancient City can also be considered a 'small red idle' project.

The tourism aspects of Nantou Ancient City mainly include the South Gate, the archway, and other cultural and historical landmarks, recording Shenzhen's 1700-year history. Leisure aspects include various 'treasure shops', including niche creative brands, local designer brands, trendy toy stores, art spaces, live music venues, intangible cultural heritage crafts, local specialty cuisines, and fashionable drinks.

These businesses are typical leisure businesses; they don't rely on external tourists. Although there are many tourists now, the local consumer power alone can support the operation of the commercial street. This is also the advantage of urban village renovation—the surrounding area is already prosperous; you only need to adjust the business positioning and introduce the attributes of 'small red idle' to achieve activation.

Five Development Concepts

Finally, let's summarize the development concepts of 'small red idle' projects.

First Location is king. 'Small red idle' projects differ from tourism development; tourism is more resource-driven, while 'small red idle' prioritizes location. The cases mentioned above are either in the very core of a city's commercial district or embedded in high-traffic scenic areas. 'Small red idle' projects have characteristics of high-frequency consumption and immediate satisfaction, making accessibility crucial. At the same time, 'small red idle' projects are prone to imitation; therefore, location advantage is very important.

Second Embedded development. 'Small red idle' projects should make the most of existing assets and improve them instead of continuing to add new ones. Past tourism investments focused on adding new assets, mainly because they were linked to real estate and new urban area development, which require a blank slate. The development method of 'small red idle' projects is to target the needs of the real market and develop where the target customer group is located. Using existing assets for embedded development reduces costs and brings projects closer to the customer market. Most of the above cases are based on existing assets.

Third Creativity leads the way. Xiaohongxian must be a creative project. Without creativity, it's not Xiaohongxian, but ordinary urban commercial services. For example, cinemas are also leisure formats, but cinemas are not Xiaohongxian. Creativity can be approached from multiple dimensions, including high appearance, high experience, high interactivity, characteristic culture, and IP.

Fourth Operations provide a safety net. Due to relatively low investment and relatively low thresholds, Xiaohongxian will inevitably face more direct commercial competition than traditional scenic areas. This requires Xiaohongxian to have stronger operational capabilities, including service quality, product iteration, event planning, and high-level marketing.

Fifth Long-term operation. The biggest hurdle for Xiaohongxian is how to make the breakthrough from internet sensation to lasting popularity. In the era of new media marketing, anyone has the chance to be a "five-minute internet sensation," but without enough "talent" after becoming popular, they will soon be forgotten by fans. How Xiaohongxian achieves long-term operation, I believe, needs to be deeply explored from culture, brand, IP, and values.

Thank you all, my sharing ends here.

▼Recommended key events in the tourism industry recently

(Click the image above for details)

2024 China (Zhengzhou) Tourism, Leisure and Entertainment Industry Expo

(and China Zhengzhou Amusement Facilities and Equipment Expo)

500+ leading cultural and tourism equipment and creative enterprises help you build in one stop,

Upgrade the new scenes and experiences of entertainment tourism!

(Click the image above for details)

To further study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions and directives on tourism work, implement the relevant work arrangements of the National Tourism Development Conference, promote the tourism, leisure and entertainment industry to uphold innovation, improve quality and efficiency, and achieve deep integration, and contribute to the modernization and high-quality development of the tourism, leisure and entertainment industry, the China Amusement Machine and Amusement Park Association will hold the 2024 China Tourism, Leisure and Entertainment Industry Development Conference in Zhengzhou from October 23-25!