Tourist landmark injects new vitality into urban development in Xi'an

Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, has long been a popular tourist destination thanks to its long history and rich culture. The Datang Everbright City is a tourist landmark featuring a grand street with characteristics of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) in the city.

The Datang Everbright City, a vibrant block dotted with local cultural landmarks, has a total length of 2,100 meters from north to south, and spans 500 meters wide from east to west.

The block showcases Xi'an's cultural image and contributes to cultural development, injecting new vitality into the city's development.

Photo shows a night view of the Datang Everbright City in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Shao Rui)

By integrating culture and tourism, the Datang Everbright City stands out as a prime example of building a tourist destination with culture at its core.

As night descends, the block comes alive with dazzling lights, adding an extra touch of vibrancy and color. It offers over 10 cultural performances every night.

"I came to Xi'an to explore its traditional culture. The Datang Everbright City offered a cultural feast, which was very memorable," said Li Rui, a tourist from east China's Shandong Province, who was still strolling along the block at 11:30 p.m. after over three hours of exploration.

The scenic area always sees high volumes of tourists during holidays. During this year's five-day May Day holiday, it received an average of 450,000 tourist visits every day.

Fine traditional culture is the foundation of the popularity of the Datang Everbright City.

The scenic spot has various Tang Dynasty-style buildings. Every night, performances featuring fine traditional culture attract legions of tourists. The spot also houses cultural venues like the Shaanxi Opera House, the Xi'an Concert Hall, the Xi'an Art Museum and Xinhua Bookstore, as well as over 10 museums including the Xi'an Qujiang Museum of Fine Arts, with multiple activities such as year-round art exhibitions, theatrical performances and book launches exuding a strong cultural atmosphere.

A staff member of a Hanfu experience store applies makeup on a customer at the Datang Everbright City in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (People's Daily/Wang Ke)

In recent years, popular "Guochao" cultural and creative products that highlight the charm of Chinese culture have become an important medium for integrating culture and tourism. Following consumer trends while delving into traditional cultural elements, the Datang Everbright City has developed innovative cultural and creative products that reflect the characteristics of the block, such as blind boxes and figurines, which are sought after by tourists.

In March 2023, Datang Everbright City was recognized as a state-level block serving tourism and leisure by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The block's success also stems from continuously analyzing new consumer trends and pursuing innovation.

At the block, a voice-controlled fountain has become a magnet for tourists. They always shout in excitement around the fountain, as the louder they scream, the higher the water rises.

However, it was once just an ordinary fountain, and its transformation stemmed from a misunderstanding. During the National Day holiday in 2019, many tourists mistook the ordinary fountain for a voice-controlled one and were disappointed when it didn't "respond" as expected. The Datang Everbright City then turned the ordinary fountain into a voice-controlled one, which has become popular among tourists since then.

Other innovations include touchscreen displays to bring convenience to visitors, launching facial recognition payment to enable a better shopping experience, smart posts that integrate WiFi, monitoring cameras and emergency buttons for calling the police, as well as a virtual reality (VR) experience center.

Tourists clad in Hanfu pose for group photos at the Datang Everbright City in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Photo/Weng Qiyu)

With the widespread application of augmented reality, VR, and artificial intelligence in the cultural and tourism sector, the block is accelerating innovation in its cultural activities performances, night tours, and exhibitions.

At the Datang Everbright City, the integrated development of dining, recreational activities and shopping with tourism has provided tourists with richer experiences.

The block's spillover effect continues to expand. Hui Qian, a native of Xi'an, previously worked outside her hometown. Seeing the booming cultural tourism market in her hometown and the business opportunities for the consumption of Hanfu, the traditional attire of the Han ethnic group, she returned to run a Hanfu experience store at the block.

It's common to see tourists clad in Hanfu outfits posing for photos at the Datang Everbright City. A large number of Hanfu experience stores in and around the block offer services such as Hanfu makeup and photography to tourists.

Hui advertises the products and services of her store through livestream sessions on popular short video platform Douyin. In just over a year since opening, the monthly revenue of Hui's store has increased from tens of thousands of yuan (1 yuan equals $0.14) to over 1 million yuan, with the majority of orders coming from online sales. On some occasions, a single livestream session on Douyin can generate sales in the hundreds of thousands of yuan.