Leadership Insights | Xi's Stories: Shaanxi-New Practices of Local Governments in the New Era

Focusing on the overall situation of the country, giving full play to its own advantages, and clarifying the main direction of development

Shaanxi has a long history and is one of the important birthplaces of Chinese civilization. Benefiting from its rich historical and cultural resources as well as beautiful natural scenery, the province boasts a unique advantage in promoting tourism through culture. In recent years, Shaanxi has continued to give full play to its own advantages, promote the in-depth integration and development of culture and tourism, and enrich the supply of high-quality cultural tourism products, so as to release the potential of cultural tourism consumption and accelerate the development of the cultural tourism industry.

In 2023, the tourist number and tourism revenue of Shaanxi increased by 106.5% and 150.6%, respectively. 

The annual comprehensive income of the key industrial chain of cultural tourism reached 772.9 billion yuan. 

307 projects were constructed and put into operation, with a total investment of 156.96 billion yuan, of which 56 projects were completed. 

The province successfully established two national cultural and ecological reserves for northern Shaanxi culture and Qiang ethnic culture, respectively. 

In 2023, the “Longest Day in Chang’an” theme block received more than 2 million tourists and achieved an revenue of 150 million yuan. 

A total of 56 projects, including Silk Road Happy World and Tongchuan Huayuehui, were completed and began operation. 

552 key cultural tourism projects were included in the “four batches” program in the warehouse throughout the year, with a total investment of 270.561 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19.4% and 5.6%, respectively. 

Shaanxi deeply explored digital cultural tourism, and launched new immersive cultural tourism projects such as “Secret City • White Deer Plain” and “Dream Seeking • Furong Lane”.

Shaanxi hosted the first General Assembly of the Alliance for Cultural Heritage in Asia and the 4th Congress of Chinese Archaeology. 

Baling Burial Pit was nominated as one of the Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries in the World in 2023. 

The site of Xitou in Xunyi was cited as one of the Top Ten New Archaeological Discoveries in China. 

The Qin and Han hall of the Shaanxi History Museum, the Yellow River Cultural Museum, and the Shiyuan Museum were completed and opened to the public. 

During the 8-day Spring Festival holiday in 2024, the province’s cultural institutions and museums received 7,335,900 visitors, increasing by 129% compared to the 2023 Spring Festival holiday. 

In 2024, Shaanxi will further promote the cultural tourism brand “Four Seasons in Shaanxi”. 

It will vigorously develop the MICE economy, and create 15 famous business and tourist streets.

It plans to increase tourist number and tourism revenue by 8% and 8.5%, respectively. 

The annual revenue of the key industrial chain of cultural tourism is expected to reach 850 billion yuan. 

(Sources: Shaanxi Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage, Shaanxi Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, and the 2024 Government Work Report of Shaanxi) 

With an open mind and innovative thinking, Shaanxi continues to explore new paths for the integration of culture and tourism, so that historical culture and modern tourism can complement each other. Both the rich history of the ancient capital of Xi’an and the magnificent scenery of the Northern Shaanxi Plateau have become the calling cards of Shaanxi to attract tourists. Looking forward to the future, the province will continue to give full play to its own advantages and promote the high-quality development of the cultural tourism industry through the integration of culture and tourism.