Chongqing - Southwest China's Chongqing has unveiled plans aimed at building five cultural and tourism brands to attract tourists from around the world, including the Three Gorges routes, mountainous city, culture and art, hot springs plus medical treatment and rural tourism, according to Liu Qi, director of Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development.

For a long time, the tourism activities of the Yangtze River Three Gorges have been mainly sightseeing on the cruise ship. In the past ten years, with multi-modal transportation being built, the Three Gorges region has ushered in the era of comprehensive tourism. Chongqing Wushan Airport was officially opened on August 16, 2019. The Zhengzhou-Chongqing high-speed railway opened on June 20, 2022. The vision of "sail a thousand miles through Three Georges in a day," written by the poet Li Bai has become a reality.

On June 20, the first group of more than 50 tourists departed from Zhengzhou East Railway Station and took the G3403 train to Wushan County of Chongqing. "It only took more than three hours to reach Wushan County. The wish to experience the clouds and rain in Wushan county and appreciate the beauty of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River has finally come true," said Kang Nan, a resident of Zhengzhou.

According to the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development, after the Zhengzhou-Chongqing high-speed railway opened, the scenic spots of the Yangtze River National Cultural Park, such as the Wanzhou Tianshengcheng Ruins, Yunyang Zhangfei Temple, Fengjie Baidi City, Wushan Small Three Gorges and other scenic spots along the line will be connected and form a tourism industry belt.

"Although Chongqing has traditionally been a popular tourist destination in China, it has struggled to attract foreign visitors. And winters in Chongqing are chillier, therefore fewer tourists visit," said Pu Yongjian, a senior tourism economic consultant of Chongqing Municipal People's Government.

Pu suggested that Chongqing can develop hot springs resorts plus medical treatment to attract domestic tourists in winter for relaxation and healthcare purposes and overseas elderly people that hope to relieve chronic diseases with hot springs and Chinese medicine physiotherapy.

More than 100 hot spring resorts in Chongqing are spread over locations, including riverbanks, canyons, forests, and caves. The World Federation of Hydrotherapy and Climatotherapy awarded Chongqing the "World Hot Spring Capital" title in 2012.

In 2019, Chongqing took the lead in carrying out evidence-based medicine research on hot springs in China. And in 2020, Chongqing compiled the standards for hot springs and medical treatment in China.

Hot spring healthcare is popular in major hot spring resorts in Chongqing. For example, Chongqing Ronghui Hot Spring has built a resort that integrates open-air hot springs, indoor spas, gyms, and medical treatment, which is popular among tourists.

In January 2022, the Chongqing Municipal People's Government issued a plan to expedite hot spring healthcare tourism and adopt the hot spring plus medical treatment model. It is expected to build some hot spring resorts that integrate leisure and vacation, characteristic medical care, and health care.

Except for the Three Gorges and hot springs, Chongqing will push forward the other three tourism brands.

Regarding mountainous city brands, Chongqing will focus on promoting the Changjiahui scenic spot and building a cluster of urban cultural and tourism projects.

At the same time, it will deeply explore Bayu culture and Yangtze River Three Gorges culture and promote the creation and production of various artworks.

In addition, the city has been actively creating an international rural tourism demonstration area and building several rural tourism homestays, rural tourism A-level scenic spots, and key rural tourism villages.