Former industrial city attracts visitors by bringing its past back to life

As one arrives in Hengyang in Hunan province, vibrant shopping malls and city blocks with hand-painted walls immediately draw the eye. These new attractions are not created for visitors but rebuilt from old towns.

Over the years, the city has been renovating neighborhoods, industrial plants and folk markets to better fit a new consumption scenario in tourism. At the ongoing third Hunan Tourism Development Conference, those efforts are being showcased to business insiders and traveling enthusiasts.

Visitors can see the impoverished streets and lanes in the past now turned into popular spots for social media check-ins, abandoned industrial areas transformed into immersive theaters and the once unknown night markets becoming trendy.

The old streets, carrying the city's rich history and culture, are the center of civic life. However, for a long time, they were lagging behind in urban development. Now, these ancient streets and lanes have been rejuvenated. The Baoweili project is an example, becoming a key spot that provides leisure, entertainment, commercial consumption and more.

The walls hand-painted with poetry, train-themed shops, cafes, trendy stores and even the street corners bear signs of its creativity. Young visitors wander through, take group photos and chat about the old times.

With an area of 100,000 square meters, the project focuses its business around eating, living, traveling, shopping and entertainment. It introduced about 30 high-quality domestic commercial brands. While creating commercial blocks, Baoweili is constructing railway culture themed landscapes in a bid to restore the city's past.

The Jianxiang Diesel Engine's factory used to be a highlight in Hengyang's industrial development. Today, it has become a historical and cultural district integrating urban memories, education, creative culture and leisure experiences. There, visitors cannot only admire the diesel engine production line but create iron artworks.

The district is also leading the trend in reviving industrial relics. Based on the drama series Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty, the district set up a virtual reality theater, offering visitors a new experience in the industry plus tourism model.

Following the principle of keeping the street layout unchanged along with its culture and past, Hengyang has this year focused on preserving street layouts, historical relics, architectural characteristics and original features while repairing and refurbishing old buildings. This kind of effort has produced streets with more cultural connotations. The improved public facilities, environment and new cultural tourism scenes have stimulated tourism. The Nanhuali and Nanyueli blocks have become favorites among visitors.

While the city holds the third Hunan Tourism Development Conference, a series of key cultural tourism projects, such as Hengyang 1944 and a local spot resembling Beijing's 798 art district, are being presented to visitors. By combining Mount Heng culture and the fire culture, Hengyang has developed new tourism formats.

Based on the ancient legend of fire god Zhurong and the fame of Mount Heng, the local administration is constructing Zhurong Town, a comprehensive resort that delves into the fire culture of Mount Heng. Encompassing performances, healthcare and cultural experiences, it features the Zhurong theater, art gallery, ice and snow amusement park, an outdoor cinema and more.

A Zhurong space hall is currently under construction, with an area of 8,000 sq m. The venue is to have exhibits like the core cabin of a space station and the return capsule of a spacecraft at a real scale, to attract young students. During the third Hunan Tourism Development Conference, the Zhurong space hall is expected to be opened.