Zigong reporter He Yan
A river of lights and shadows, a thousand beautiful colors. Tourists take a boat to wander in the Puxi River, while enjoying the light and shadow along the way, while listening to explanations related to the city's history and culture, and the perception of Zigong from the surface to the inside - "Night Tour of Puxi" has won wide acclaim from the society since it set sail in 2019. Since the beginning of this year, Zigong Cultural Tourism Investment and Development Co., Ltd. has continued to upgrade and transform the project, constantly enriching the connotation and extension, and striving to achieve "applause and popularity".
Relying on the ancient salt transportation waterway, "Night Tour of Puxi" runs through the main urban area of Zigong, with "one river, three bays, four sections and 24 scenes" as the main line of the tour, deeply excavates the unique cultural elements of "salt, dragon, lamp and food" in Zigong, and uses the technology of "sound, light, electricity and shadow", combined with the local traditional lantern production technology, to launch a unique cultural tour boutique route. At the beginning of this year, according to the city's overall plan for the construction of the Puxi River Salt Cultural Corridor, Zigong Cultural Tourism took the development time of Zigongjing salt culture as a clue, connecting the lanterns and light and shadow shows on both sides of the river from Maojiaba Wharf to Ziliujing Old Street, and added "Water of Life", "Earth Education Overlord", "Shu People Selling Salt", "Millennium Salt Capital", "Shudu Salt Talk", "New Look of the Times", "Salt Capital Food" Seven light groups, and new "Time and Space Travel", "Mei Ze Chasing Deer", "Zhuo Tube Coming Out" and other seven light and shadow shows or projection shows, Dongxing Temple Bridge, Shuiyaju Bridge, The Houhou Bridge was re-lit, and a new night tour scene of Jingyan culture theme of "one prelude, seven acts and 28 scenes" was created, which presented the history of Zigong because of salt and gathered people with salt, so that the breadth and depth of the "thousand-year-old salt capital" were further highlighted.
During important festivals such as the Spring Festival and May Day, the "Night Tour of Buxi" gives full play to the attraction of intangible cultural heritage items and traditional folk customs. In the Zhangjiatuo Water Performing Arts Area, the fire dragon dance and the intangible cultural heritage iron flower performance shine on the river; In the century-old ancestral hall Wangye Temple, traditional opera arts such as Sichuan opera changing face and spitting fire, Sichuan Qingyin, and acrobatics compete with each other; In Ziliujing Old Street and Chatangzi Wharf, folk cultural activities such as excerpts, Hanfu lantern parades, and ancient salt capital markets are very lively, allowing you to see the fantasy and prosperity of the "China Light City".
Before the Spring Festival, Zigong Cultural Tourism upgraded, repaired and brightened Ziliujing Old Street, carried out investment promotion and operation, and planned and carried out the 2024 Ziliujing Old Street New Year National Tide Food Festival. The commercial atmosphere of Maojiaba Wharf has been upgraded and renovated to enrich the commercial format of container business at night. Through the linkage of land and water, the creation of beautiful scenery and consumption formats along the coast has increased the choice of leisure and entertainment for citizens and tourists, and also effectively promoted the development of the nighttime economy at related points. During the Spring Festival, nearly 300,000 tourists were received at various points along the river in the main urban area of the Puxi River.
In order to better "sell" the project, Zigong Cultural Tourism actively explores the intelligent escort function based on Baidu maps, AI large models and WeChat applets, and carries out in-depth cooperation with Baidu in explanation, guidance, activities, ticket purchase and cultural creativity. Use live webcasts, short videos and other forms to promote the "Night Tour of Puxi" on Internet media.
At the same time, Zigong Cultural Tourism also took the initiative to connect with resources outside the city, and established cooperation with more than 50 travel agency teams in Chengdu, Chongqing, Guizhou and other places to attract more short-distance tours of friendly neighboring cities to "land" on the Puxi River and ensure a stable source of tourists on a daily basis. As of April 2024, the number of tourists received by "Night Tour Busye" increased by 38.95% year-on-year, and the operating income increased by 53.65%.
"In the next step, we will continue to dig deep into the local culture and play the 'card' in our hands." Huang Li, the person in charge of the "Night Tour to Puxi" project, said that he would carefully plan and produce some short videos about the history and culture of Zigong, especially the Jingyan culture, and publicize them through the online social platforms that the masses like to see; Cooperate with art groups to launch performing arts classes, so that tourists can enjoy operas and tea on the boat; In-depth development of Buxi study tours, design a variety of beneficial and interesting activities for primary and secondary school students, and contribute to the high-quality development of the city's cultural and tourism industry. (Photo courtesy of Zigong Cultural Tourism Investment and Development Co., Ltd.)
Editor: Zhang Wenhan
Editor: Shu Xuhui