From the Taishan Mountain to the Yellow Sea, and from the homeland of Confucius and Mencius to the wetlands of the Yellow River, Shandong province is doubling down on using its cultural and natural resources to build a globally competitive tourism industry, with smart digital platforms, immersive cultural trains, and a series of pro-consumption policies driving the latest round of upgrades.

All these works were exhibited at the Shandong High-quality Cultural and Tourism Industry Development Conference on 23rd and 24th April in Zibo. The conference highlighted the intention of Shandong to intensify the incorporation of traditional culture and tourism, and to expand on the cultural tourism + scenarios and to leverage digital intelligence to enrich visitor experiences.

Shandong has launched a smart cultural tourism ticket stub platform, which connects over 1,200 businesses along travel pathways, such as scenic sites, hotels, homestays, restaurants, theatres, and souvenir shops. The platform has implemented more than 1,500 preferential policies, including price reduction, free gifts, and more, all aimed at enriching cultural journeys and creating interactive, consumption-driven, and shareable tourism scenarios.

In April last year, the province released the Friendly Shandong Qilu No 1 tourist train, which links 22 stations in 11 cities, and involves more than 200 scenic spots. The service packages travellers with dining, accommodation, transport, sightseeing, shopping and entertainment.

In a more cultural direction, in February of this year, Shandong introduced a cultural relic-themed educational train and upgraded it into a mobile museum on rails. All its 10 carriages are also themed on cultural relics, including bronze ware, porcelain, and stone relief carvings.

Incorporated with interactive installations and digital displays, the train makes passengers plunge into the legacy of Confucian thinking. To date, the ship has had almost 50,000 tourists experience the ship.

Shandong has also announced an action plan to enhance the inbound tourism services, and outlines 28 specific tasks in 10 areas, including international flight routes, facilitation of customs clearance, foreign currency payment services, tax refunds to outbound visitors, and multilingual support. The plan will boost the demand for inbound tourism by using the Friendly Shandong brand.

According to official statistics, the inbound tourist numbers to Shandong have increased by more than 46 per cent annually last year.