Don't worry, take a breath of oxygen first.
I know that this beginning has quite an impact, but you have to admit it. When the two words "Henan" and "Trillion" are closely linked and placed on the hot search, is your initial reaction the same as mine, that is: Huh? Is it that Henan? Is it the Henan that has suffered countless slanders?
Yes, that's it.
It is not in the category of first-tier cities, nor does it belong to the ranks of established tourism provinces. In 2023, on the land of the Central Plains, a major thing was quietly done, that is, the total tourism revenue reached 964.56 billion, stepping into the threshold of the "trillion club". This is not data obtained through squeezing, but is actually formed by the accumulation of huge crowds of people. More than 900 billion, what kind of concept is this? Suppose there is a situation where the Erqi Tower can be filled with cash, but it cannot be filled, not at all.
What’s even more outrageous is that the four old friends, Longmen Grottoes, Riverside Garden during the Qingming Festival, Shaolin Temple, and Yuntai Mountain, suddenly rejuvenated and became the top 10 places for Internet celebrities to visit in the country. Do you think people go to Henan to see the soil? Is it specially done to visit the grave? Did you go there to see the bald monk?
Wrong.
Why do young people of this generation start looking for trendy brands in the local area?
You need to understand this logic: If a person works hard in a big city and has doubts about life, then this person will want to go to his ancestors to find a sense of existence.
Henan is very sensible. It did not follow the trend and build fake ancient towns and glass bridges. It did something truly amazing, that is, it transformed the legacy of its ancestors into a script-killing experience with an immersive experience.
In Longmen Grottoes, when you lean on the fence and look at the Buddha statue, the Buddha statue will ignore you. What about now? If you put on VR glasses, the sound of forging iron by craftsmen thousands of years ago will continue to ring in your ears, and the Lucena Buddha will slowly open its eyes in front of you little by little. At that moment, you didn't want to take pictures, but you were filled with sadness and wanted to cry.
The Qingming Riverside Garden shows the scene of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" during the day, and the scene of "The Dream of Tokyo in the Song Dynasty" when night falls. I heard that when it was at its most popular, there were as many as four performances in one night, and every venue was packed. Tens of thousands of people are viewing history in the real landscape. This situation cannot be regarded as consumption behavior. It is clearly a collective time-travel experience.
Don't mention "scenic spots" to me, that thing is outdated long ago
People in Henan now call this "scene".
The Shaolin Temple stopped selling incense and started selling kung fu experiences instead. If you compete with the monks and post on WeChat Moments claiming, "I served as a special soldier in Songshan Mountain," you will get ten times more likes than if you lifted iron in the gym.
The even more wonderful Yuntai Mountain is a beautiful mountain with cliff swings and internet-famous plank roads. Young people are in that state where their legs are weak but they are still queuing up. Its views on Douyin have exceeded 100 million. You see, the mountain is still the same mountain, but the gameplay has changed so that the mountain comes to life.
I heard that there is data that shows that only in the second half of 2023, Henan's cultural tourism orders have increased, with the increase reaching 67%. How could this be a sign of recovery? It was clearly like a volcanic eruption.
If only the scenic spot becomes popular, that’s not the point.
What is really scary is that what Henan is doing this time is a "group fight."
Do you think Luoyang only has Longmen Grottoes? Not so. In the ancient city of Luoyi, the streets are full of girls wearing Hanfu. Even if the temperature is several degrees below zero, they can't stop the enthusiasm that seems to have come from "time travel". I heard that there was a Hanfu store owner who opened three branches in one year and was so busy that he had no time to count money.
Xuchang has built itself into a "6A-level scenic spot" with just one supermarket, namely Pang Donglai's supermarket. The situation is quite astonishing. Its annual passenger flow exceeds 30 million. It is unbelievable that a shopping and commercial place can become a tourist destination. Henan's cultural tourism ideas have shown a unique trend: as long as it can retain people, anything can become an object of interest.
Look at Zhongmou, which used to be an agricultural county but is now known as "the number one theme park county in China". Only Henan Drama Fantasy City covers an area of 622 acres and contains 21 theaters, which can perform 700 minutes of non-repeating plays. Audiences from outside the province accounted for 80%, of which 85% were born after 1985. In this situation, it is not just watching a play, it is clearly supplementing cultural courses for young people.
The "meter"-shaped high-speed railway weaves Henan into a network
Hey, have you noticed another subtlety? When I traveled to Henan in the past, the scenic spots were extremely scattered, and the time spent on the road was actually longer than the actual time spent traveling.
How is it now? Once the "meter"-shaped high-speed rail network is rolled out, no matter where you want to go from Zhengzhou, you can reach it directly within an hour. I enjoyed soup in Luoyang in the early morning, went to Kaifeng for a leisurely garden stroll at noon, and returned to Zhengzhou at night to watch "Only Henan" immersively. After traveling to three cities in one day, you won't feel exhausted. Instead, you will feel extremely refreshed and comfortable, making you feel happy both physically and mentally.
The number of users of the smart tourism platform "One-stop Henan Tour" has reached 13 million. Reservations, tours and complaints can be completed with one click. You can even check the queue time when you go to the toilet. This thing is done with a perceptible human atmosphere.
But don’t worry, the road after one trillion dollars will be even harder.
Someone once calculated that by 2024, the number of tourists Henan will receive will exceed 1 billion for the first time, and its revenue will reach over one trillion. By 2025, the number of tourists will steadily reach 1.1 billion.
The numbers are beautiful, but there are also hidden worries.
Some experts (no matter which one they are) say that the current situation in Henan is that "there is traffic, but there is a lack of transformation." People come here and money is spent, but how can we encourage people to come back a second time? Relying solely on freshness will not last for several years.
After reaching the "1 billion+" state, the competition is not who has a louder voice, but who can be more meticulous in work. We can no longer hope that one project will suddenly become popular and save the situation, but we must rely on upgrading the overall experience. It is necessary to change from the original competition of resources to the current competition of content, creativity and operation.
When "hometown" becomes "trendy brand"
To be honest, I had no interest in Henan before. Even a bit of a stereotype.
But when you see the new Yin Xu Museum, young people are exploring the oracle bone inscriptions on how to write the word "horse"; when you see people crying in tears because of a scene in the theater in Henan; when you see Fat Dong Lai in the supermarket, tourists are taking photos and checking in as if they were visiting a tourist attraction.
You will feel that this land is really different.
It has not lost its "hometown" roots, but has grown "trendy" leaves.
Finally, say something humane
Trillions are just the beginning.
During the Spring Festival in 2026, with a nine-day holiday, Henan harvested another 37.63 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.6%. The lanterns in Kaifeng, the snow in Luoyang, the mountains in Jiaozuo, and the tea in Xinyang, every corner is doing its best to shine.
Who can imagine that the Central Plains region, which has been ridiculed for a long time, will in the future transform into a region that is best at telling all kinds of stories in China.
Next time someone asks you where to travel, don’t just mention Chengdu, Changsha, or Xi’an.
Go to Henan and see.
Not to see history.
It’s to see how history comes alive.
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