Cultural experiences draw extensive tourism across China during National Day holiday

Cultural experiences and historic sites have drawn holiday tourism in villages and cities across China during the week-long National Day which started on Tuesday.

In the rural outskirts of the coastal city of Quanzhou in east China's Fujian Province, tourists are given a chance to wear local traditional head-pinned flowers in Xunpu Village, where more than 100,000 tourist visits have been received every day during the holiday.

It is a traditional custom for local women in the village to pin seasonal flowers in their hair when they are working on the beach, showing their affection for life and aspiration for a rosy future. In 2008, the custom was listed as China’s national intangible cultural heritage.

The seaside village also features old buildings made of oyster shells, prompting many tourists to pose for photos.

Cultural performances have also been staged in the village, including marionette puppet shows and Nanyin music, which features slow, elegant melodies and has been inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

In Zunyi City of southwest China's Guizhou Province, the Wujiangzhai scenic spot, known for its picturesque cultural scenery, has held a number of folk activities.

The stilted buildings, together with the river where a rowing stunt performance was being held, made for a photogenic sight to behold, much to the delight of shutterbug visitors.

"It comes into a hazy scenery, another kind of beauty. The journey has not been made in vain," said Xiang Lirong, a tourist.

Tourists at the site have also been enjoying traditional shadow plays while tasting tea. At night, they can also watch molten iron fireworks and participate in bonfire parties.

The Mosuwan scenic spot in Huangshi City of central China's Hubei Province, integrating traditional and fashionable elements, wowed tourists with colorful nighttime activities. The daily average of tourist visits has exceeded 60,000 at the scenic spot during the holiday.

A live music show was staged against the poetic backdrop of Mosuwan, exciting spectators.

"We are so exciting, and children will dance with music. It's a combination of China chic and pop music," said Chen Yafei, a tourist.

Visitors can also try their hand at making blown sugar figures at the scenic spot.

The 38 relic buildings in Zhengding Ancient City in north China's Hebei Province have attracted swaths of holidaymakers with their historical charm. Many tourists wear traditional Hanfu dresses, the traditional form of fashion once commonly worn by the Han people.

The 6.6-square-kilometer ancient city has received a daily average of over 500,000 tourist visits during the holiday, a year-on-year increase of nearly three times.

Zhengding boasts the sites where the TV program Dream of the Red Chamber, adapted from China's classic novel of the same title, was filmed in the 1980s. During the holiday, the ancient city has presented visitors with immersive performances that depict plots from the novel.

Cultural experiences draw extensive tourism across China during National Day holiday

Cultural experiences draw extensive tourism across China during National Day holiday

Yamaha, one of the world's largest piano manufacturers, has established a significant presence in Hangzhou City of east China's Zhejiang Province for more than two decades, witnessing remarkable growth of the market in the country while envisioning long-term development on this dynamic land.

The Japanese company's factory in Hangzhou produces approximately one in every five pianos in China. At its peak, nearly 70 percent of Yamaha's pianos and one-third of its woodwind instruments and guitars are manufactured in this facility. The products not only cater to the Chinese market but are also exported worldwide, earning the brand a prestigious reputation.

The friendly relations between Zhejiang and Shizuoka Prefecture, the center of musical instrument production in Japan, began in 1982, fostering deeper exchanges and cooperation. As trade between the two sides flourished, Yamaha Corporation focused its attention on Zhejiang, seeking to capitalize on its potential.

"Yamaha has high expectations for the Chinese market. The increasingly open Chinese market provides our company with stable support from material procurement to product sales,” said Seiichi Suzuki, general manager of Xiaoshan Yamaha Musical Instruments Co., Ltd.

Yamaha established its factory in Hangzhou's Xiaoshan District in 1997. Initially, the factory relied on assistance from its Japanese headquarters for worker training and production equipment. However, over the years, advancements in China's industrial technology have transformed this dependency. Chinese suppliers have now developed the capability to design and manufacture processing equipment for complex piano parts, even exporting some of the equipment to Japan.

The factory has grown from a modest workforce of fewer than 100 to nearly 3,000 employees. Its production processes have evolved from simple assembly to full-fledged instrument manufacturing, with an increasing focus on localizing component production, thereby enhancing the entire supply chain.

"There is a big difference between 2007 and now," said Taku Okamoto, head of the production department.

Okamoto was sent from Yamaha's Japan headquarters in Shizuoka Prefecture to China seven years ago to oversee product quality. He witnessed rapid development of the country, saying that nowadays tasks that might take a long time in Japan can often be completed in about a third of that time in China.

Today, Yamaha, like many foreign-funded enterprises, is capitalizing on the opportunities presented by China's robust growth. Suzuki, as well as many workers like Okamoto, say they believe that building on the foundation of the past two decades, Yamaha can seek an even more robust development in this land for the next 30, 50, or even 100 years.

Yamaha's journey in Hangzhou inspires vision for more robust development in China