Waitongwu village in Hangzhou boasts a rich Longjing tea culture and has been known since ancient times as home to "loads of Longjing tea".[Photo by Lian Guoqing/Asianewsphoto]

6 Culture tourism

Cultural tourism has increasingly become a booming sector in the global tourism landscape. Implementation Opinions of the Ministry of Culture on Implementing the Several Opinions of the State Council on Further Promoting the Integrated Development with Relevant Industries of Cultural Creativity and Design Services, released by the Ministry of Culture in 2014, proposes that cultural creativity should be injected into tourism, and travel products could be upgraded by commercialization of cultural tourism.

In recent years, culture and creative industries are widely used around the world to enhance attractiveness and competitiveness of tourist destinations. Tangible and intangible cultural heritage of a location can be creatively crafted to suit modern-day travelers, who are more or less tired of the traditional sightseeing and want to be fully immersed in local cultural traditions and lifestyles.

Take the Waitongwu village in Hangzhou, for instance, the village boasts a rich Longjing tea culture and has been known since ancient times as home to "loads of Longjing tea". Now the village uses it tea culture as a competitive edge and has developed a big cultural tourism brand by dividing the village into 6 functional areas, including tea art appreciation area, tea garden sightseeing area, farmyard leisure area etc.

Every year, when it is time for tea picking, tourists can come and fully participate in the picking experience and later take part in the annual tea frying competition, which is another highlight of the village.