Meituan's study tours in Hongcun a hit with travelers

Study tours have proven to be a hot ticket among Chinese students and parents with the coming of summer vacation this year, according to the country's largest on-demand service provider Meituan.

In Hongcun, an ancient village listed as a 5A-rated tourism spot, the highest level in the country's tourism sector, Meituan is shaking hands with the local tourism authority to create some new modes of travel by reviving ancient traditions.

Hongcun, located in Yixian county of Huangshan city, East China's Anhui province, is well-known as one of the most famous traditional Chinese villages with hundreds of unique ancient houses built during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911).

Children and their parents can "travel" back to the Ming Dynasty to be an ancient student sitting in a traditional house of Hongcun, chanting classics, writing calligraphy and making traditional food.

"While children and their parents have become one of the main pillars of tourists in the summer, their demands have become increasingly diversified," said an official responsible for domestic tourism business at Meituan Travel, a tourism arm of Meituan.

"They pay more attention to studying while traveling," she added.

Such study-oriented and experience-based tours have also provided this ancient village with new growth engines.

Data from Meituan Travel showed that the consumption of related coupons for Hongcun has witnessed an increase of 120 percent since June this year.

To embrace such a trend, Meituan Travel has also launched an array of products in its app. In Hongcun, for instance, customers can get a discount on parent-child tickets during the summer holiday.