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Reporter | Zhao Shan

Editor-in-chief | Yang Ming

Editor | Jing Xiangyuan

Source | People's Daily Overseas Edition

With the arrival of summer vacation, inbound tourism continues to be hot. From natural scenery and historical sites to leisure and entertainment and shopping, overseas tourists' China trips are becoming more and more exciting. Among them, China's local theme parks have won the favor of overseas tourists with their rich content, unique experiences, and diverse business formats, and have been included in "China Travel" itineraries.

Overseas tourists immerse themselves in the park wearing traditional Chinese clothing at Qingming Shanghe Garden

Photo courtesy of Qingming Shanghe Garden

"It's so amazing! The show is highly recommended to more friends."

In the scorching summer, theme parks close to nature attract many overseas tourists. Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park is full of visitors. Two Russian tourists participated in the water-splashing carnival for the first time and could hardly conceal their excitement. Veronica said: "The sea lions are so cute. I have never had the experience of splashing water with sea lions before. It's so fun!" This year, the park has seen a 146% year-on-year increase in overseas tourists, with a significant increase in tourists from Japan, South Korea, and Thailand.

After watching the "Dolphin Fantasy Show · Yu Jian Ocean" performance at Henan Zhengzhou Haichang Ocean Park, French tourist Leo exclaimed: "The stage is a 360-degree circular water curtain. Dolphins surf with the actors, dance in the water, and there is also aerial ballet and high-diving. It's so amazing! The show is highly recommended to more friends."

Sagor Tito, a tourist from Bangladesh, said: "I came to Guangzhou, Guangdong on a business trip, and my local friends recommended me to see the giant pandas at Changlong. There are 16 giant pandas here, and they are super cute. I also saw many animals such as koalas, Asian elephants, and proboscis monkeys. This trip to Changlong was worthwhile!" As one of the world's largest wildlife theme parks with the largest number of animal species, during the summer vacation, Guangzhou Changlong Wildlife World has transformed into an immersive "Global Animal Carnival" theme park. Changlong International Circus launched new programs such as "Flowing Light Dream Dance" and "Flame Pioneer", and newly created two themed parade performances, "Colorful Party" and "Jumping Carnival."

Changlong Ocean Kingdom's whale shark pavilion attracts overseas tourists to stop and take photos

Photo courtesy of Changlong

It is reported that the number of overseas tourists received by Changlong Group this year has increased significantly, and the occupancy rate of its booked rooms has increased by nearly 80% year-on-year. Haru, a South Korean tourist, said: "I came to Hengqin Changlong specifically to see marine life. The killer whale display area gave me an unprecedented shock. I also saw a seven-country themed fireworks show at night, which was amazing! "

Ethan, a British tourist, played at Zhejiang Moganshan Kaiyuan Senbo Resort for 3 days and said reluctantly when leaving: "The scenery here is so beautiful. I played many water sports and saw small animals I had never seen before. This vacation was an unprecedented experience for me." Ali, an American tourist at Jiaxing Kaiyuan Senbo Resort, also had an unforgettable experience: "I've never stayed in a hotel that looks like a small boat. The hotel has many activities, the staff are very enthusiastic, and the food suits my taste. I will come back again next time."

Kaiyuan Senbo Resort focuses on "hotel + park", providing one-stop resort services. Since this year, the resorts in Hangzhou and Moganshan have seen a significant increase in overseas tourists. Overseas tourists like resort styles that are close to nature, and various small wooden houses integrated with nature, especially tree houses and other characteristic room types, have won their frequent praise.

"This is a pleasant journey to experience Chinese culture."

With the increasing number of excellent Chinese film and television works "going global", filming locations are attracting overseas tourists. Hengdian World Studios in Zhejiang Province is a theme park featuring film and television, creating diverse immersive experience projects to promote Chinese culture to overseas tourists and showcase the charm of the film and television industry. The number of overseas tourists received in 2024 has increased by nearly 10 times year-on-year.

Emma, an Italian tourist, experienced a cultural time-travel journey at the "Xuanqiu Film City" in Ming and Qing Palaces. She said: "I like watching Chinese costume dramas. The exquisite costumes, makeup, and styling impressed me deeply. Hengdian provides costume changes and interactive experiences, which are very interesting. I feel like I'm participating in film shooting."

Shreena from Turkmenistan, dressed in ancient costumes, learned the Jinghong Dance. She said: "Hanfu is very beautiful. I feel like I've traveled back to ancient China. This wonderful feeling is hard to express in words." Tata from Brazil said: "We learned about ancient Chinese etiquette and graceful dances here, and also enjoyed a wonderful concert."

Shenzhen Splendid China Folk Village in Guangdong Province is China's first large-scale cultural theme park, and it remains vibrant to this day, attracting tourists from home and abroad. After visiting, Sven, a German tourist, said: "I visited 82 miniature landscapes and enjoyed the beautiful mountains and rivers and ethnic customs of China in one day. This is a pleasant journey to experience Chinese culture."

David, a British tourist, is very interested in the cultures of various ethnic groups in China. At Shenzhen Splendid China Folk Village, he experienced intangible cultural heritage projects such as printing, silhouettes, and papermaking, and also bought some souvenirs to give to his relatives and friends. Since this year, the number of overseas tourists received by Shenzhen Splendid China Folk Village, Shenzhen Happy Valley, and Window of the World, theme parks under Happy Valley Company, has grown rapidly.

Overseas tourists interact with actors by taking photos at Shenzhen Splendid China Folk Village

Photo by Wei Xuan

Located in Kaifeng, Henan, Qingming Shanghe Garden is a large-scale Song culture theme park. It continuously integrates and expands Song culture elements, and with its profound cultural heritage, wonderful real-scene performances, and rich experience projects, it attracts overseas tourists to "step into the painting for a day and travel through a thousand years". This year, the number of overseas tourists received by the park has increased significantly, making it a popular destination for inbound tourism in Henan.

"The deep integration of cultural uniqueness and technological experience has enhanced the international appeal of local theme parks."

What is the appeal of China's local theme parks to overseas tourists? Yang Ming, spokesperson of the China Amusement Machine and Amusement Park Association, believes that: "The deep integration of cultural uniqueness and technological experience has enhanced the international appeal of local theme parks. Local theme parks use innovative methods to transform China's excellent traditional culture into participatory and perceptible experience projects, forming a cultural symbol that is different from international brands, and therefore attracting more attention from overseas tourists. At the same time, relying on cutting-edge technology, the depth of interaction and the dimension of experience between tourists and parks have been significantly improved."

How can local theme parks attract more overseas tourists and help the development of inbound tourism? Many theme parks interviewed by reporters are continuously improving their services, including foreign language guides, convenient payments, and smart park visits, to provide overseas tourists with a more comfortable travel experience.

Yang Ming told reporters: "Under the support of convenient policies such as visa-free expansion and departure tax refunds, domestic theme parks need to show off their 'international style'. This requires continuous deepening of cultural expression innovation, promoting the organic combination of traditional cultural symbols and modern entertainment forms, creating experiential content that combines both national characteristics and international aesthetic consensus, building the theme park's IP system, enhancing the brand's international recognition and cultural communication affinity, and transforming domestic theme parks into important windows showcasing Chinese culture."

In the view of Liu Xiangyan, director of the International Research Institute of the China Tourism Academy, theme parks can transform the charm of Chinese culture into participatory and interactive tourism products through carefully designed immersive experiences, thereby increasing the interest and participation of overseas tourists. Domestic Chinese theme parks should continuously improve the reception environment for international tourists, enhance convenience; highlight Chinese cultural characteristics, avoid homogeneous products and experiential content, and incorporate "Chinese symbols" within the park; strengthen overseas marketing and promotion, and encourage theme parks with a strong foundation in Chinese culture to actively expand into international markets.

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