By Yuling Chen, EDITOR

The 12th Yangtze River Three Gorges (Wushan) International Red Leaf Festival came to a successful end. During the festival, 425,000 tourists in total visited here, earning the county approximately RMB 180 million in tourist income.

Red leaves in Wushan Country, Chongqing, China (Photo by Zhang Jinqi)

From November 16 to December 31, 2018, this festival lasted a month and a half.

Wushan Goddess Scenic Area first launched its Northern Circle Line. It connects core scenic spots such as Goddess Ladder, Goddess Stream, Wenfeng Scenic Area, and Goddess Peak. There are also 9 new viewing platforms for appreciating red leaves along the route.

In addition to the 2,200-meter-long landscape footpath and Wangxia Cableway, a vertical sightseeing elevator has also made its debut. These facilities can offer tourists an all-around angle to see the full view.

Furthermore, relying on landscapes including red-leaves slope, valley, and forest, Wushan County also issued various “boutique routes”. They combine climbing, appreciating (red leaves), overlooking (Wu Gorge), tasting (cloud & rain), and experiencing (culture). Therefore, visitors can get a closer understanding of the new developmental pattern of “Tourism +” in Wushan County.

The success of this festival has also boosted local villagers’ incomes, highlighting the role of rural tourism in enriching villagers. Yi Guangqiong runs a farm stay in a local village. She could receive 40 tables of tourists during the festival and earned over RMB 100,000 a month.

There are a total of more than 100 such local homestays. In the meantime, Wushan County will establish online and offline sales platforms. Tourists can then purchase distinctive agricultural products such as Quchi Newhall Navel Orange, Daxi Potato Vermicelli and Dachang Snow Jujube.

Source: Chongqing Daily

Relevant link: