Yellow Emperor's tourism potential yet to be tapped

Performers dance during a memorial ceremony to worship "Yellow Emperor" who according to legend reigned nearly 5,000 years ago and is regarded as the ancestor of all Chinese people, in Huangling county, Northwest China's Shaanxi province, April 4, 2017. Over 10,000 people attended the ceremony on Tuesday which is also the Qingming Festival, or the Tomb-Sweeping Day. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Yellow Emperor, the first ruler of a unified China about 5,000 years ago, is regarded as the forefather of the Chinese nation.

The local government in Shaanxi province started holding an annual memorial ceremony for him on Tomb-Sweeping Day in 1955. The ceremony is held in the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor in Huangling, which dates back more than 2,000 years.

But according to legend, the emperor was born in Xinzheng, in what is today Central China's Henan province, and the Xinzheng government began conducting a similar ceremony on the same day in a temple of the Yellow Emperor in 2006.

Tomb Sweeping Day is dedicated to cherishing the memory of one's ancestors in Chinese culture, so it is natural for Huangling and Xinzheng to hold a ceremony on that day.

Some people think they are competing with each other because the local governments in Huangling and Xinzheng both regard their respective connection with the Yellow Emperor as a unique cultural resource and tourism selling point.

But these people may not realize that the key factors affecting the development of a place's cultural and tourism industries are, in many cases, not only historical origins, but more importantly innovation, talent, market environments, and traveling experience.

So far, neither Huangling nor Xinzheng has developed its correlation with the Yellow Emperor into real profitability, because of their comparatively under-developed tourism services. Both places are still only a two-hour-is-enough tourist stop nearby Xi'an and Luoyang, which are both popular tourist destinations. They still have a long way to go before becoming real competitors in the market.