Chongqing - Chongqing outlined an ambitious plan to accelerate the upgrading and breakthrough development of its culture and tourism sector in 2026, as the city convened its annual cultural and tourism work conference on January 21.
According to the plan, Chongqing will take the construction of the Bashu Cultural and Tourism Corridor as its overarching driver, shoring up foundations, addressing weaknesses, scaling up strengths, and advancing reforms, to achieve a strong start to the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).
Tourists enjoy the night view of the Hongyadong scenic area by the Jialing River in southwest China's Chongqing. (Photo/Wang Quanchao, Xinhua)
Strong Growth in 2025
The conference reviewed Chongqing’s culture and tourism performance in 2025, a year marked by steady growth in both scale and quality.
Cooperation with neighboring Sichuan Province deepened significantly, with the Bashu Cultural and Tourism Corridor’s framework taking shape. A total of 616 tourist trains operated along the corridor, while the “Millions of Workers Tour Bashu” initiative generated 3.2 million trips and more than 3 billion yuan (about 431 million USD) in consumption. Cross-city travel sharing mechanisms helped form a Bashu tourism circle with over 100 million mutual visits annually.
Cultural creation also delivered notable results. Chongqing-produced works won major national awards, while a record number of local artworks were selected for national exhibitions in fine art, seal carving and photography.
Public cultural services continued to expand. The city added 78 new public cultural spaces, with eight facilities recognized as “Most Beautiful Rural Public Cultural Spaces” nationwide—the highest number among Chinese cities. Major cultural infrastructure projects, such as the new municipal children’s library, were completed, while over 100 mass cultural activities and 140 grassroots outreach events were held citywide.
The cultural and tourism industry base was further strengthened, with the number of market entities surpassing 200,000. Targeted investment promotion led to 120 signed projects worth more than 16 billion yuan, while consumption incentives totaling 310 million yuan helped drive over 20 billion yuan in related spending.
A tourist from Kazakhstan takes photos of the Liziba Station of Chongqing Rail Transit in Yuzhong District of southwest China's Chongqing, October 3, 2025. (Photo/Huang Wei, Xinhua)
In terms of openness and promotion, Chongqing launched the tourism brand slogan “Majestic Landscape, Dynamic Chongqing,” staged high-profile promotional events, and expanded its international outreach. The city ranked among Ctrip’s top 10 inbound tourism destinations in China and was named “Most Internationally Influential Inbound Tourism City” at the 2025 Weibo Tourism Night.
In 2025, Chongqing received over 500 million domestic tourist visits, with the added value of the cultural and tourism industries reaching an estimated 154 billion yuan and 147 billion yuan, respectively.
Clear Targets Ahead
Building on this momentum, Chongqing will focus on 13 key tasks in 2026, with the Bashu Cultural and Tourism Corridor as the central lever.
Priorities include deepening Sichuan–Chongqing coordination, developing landmark tourism destinations, advancing heritage conservation projects, and strengthening systematic protection of intangible cultural heritage.
Reform will be another major focus. The city plans to improve holiday tourism data systems, enhance cross-departmental data sharing, expand high-quality cultural and tourism datasets, and push forward reforms in public cultural services and performing arts institutions.
To foster new growth drivers, Chongqing aims to reshape its tourism industry logic by better matching supply with evolving consumer demand, upgrading experiences to more immersive, story-driven offerings, and building an integrated industrial ecosystem centered on cultural and tourism experiences.
The city will also promote deeper integration between culture, tourism and other sectors, supporting rural revitalization and urban development through “culture and tourism plus” initiatives.
Key goals for 2026 also include creating more high-quality cultural works, strengthening major festivals and exhibitions, enhancing market-oriented operations, and accelerating smart tourism development through digital and AI-enabled platforms.
A drone light show is staged in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, August 23, 2025. (Photo/Wang Quanchao, Xinhua)
Chongqing will continue to amplify its cultural and tourism brand, highlighting its distinctive Bashu heritage, mountain-city landscapes and Yangtze River culture, while expanding global promotion campaigns and positioning itself as a leading inbound tourism hub in western China.
The city aims to push the added value of its cultural industry beyond 160 billion yuan in 2026.
Additional measures will focus on talent development, market regulation and safety management, as Chongqing seeks to write a new chapter in high-quality culture and tourism development and contribute to the building of a modernized Chongqing.