According to the 2026 Mid-Year Tourism Market Insight Report published by the China Tourism Association, county-level tourism has emerged as a significant growth engine in the first half of the year, with 'treasure small cities' continuing to gain popularity. County-level cross-regional consumption grew 14.1% year on year.
One by one, these 'treasure' county towns, with their unique scenery, are creating a new tourism phenomenon this summer. Guan Kewai, director of the Industrial Development Department at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, noted that in recent years, people have increasingly embraced experiential consumption with a strong sense of participation, enjoying leisure and relaxation in a relaxed atmosphere. Numerous 'treasure' small cities and beautiful villages have become the top choice for leisure, vacation, and relaxation. 'County tourism' and rural tourism have become new consumption hotspots in the lower-tier market.
Improving supply quality to make county cultural tourism worth seeing. Data from Qunar shows that during this year's summer peak, hotel bookings for certain county destinations increased over 500% year on year, while experiential travel searches rose 130% year on year. Ctrip data shows that the proportion of travelers taking 4-day or longer trips nationwide rose from 28.4% to 47.1%, as consumers are no longer satisfied with 'checking in' but are more willing to slow down for in-depth experiences. The shift in tourist consumption preferences is reshaping the supply-demand dynamics of the county economy.
The '15th Five-Year Plan for Expanding Consumption' proposes to strengthen the county consumption market and make institutional arrangements for cultivating experiential consumption. This summer, county-level supply responded quickly.
Expanding consumption scenarios to bring heat to lower-tier markets. In summer, along a road at the foot of a mountain in Wanshan Town, Lujiang County, Hefei City, Anhui Province, cars from surrounding areas arrived one after another. Their destination was a rural cinema nestled in the green valley — Wanshan Film Park.
According to Qiu Xue, general manager of Wanshan Film Park, the venue features specialty dining and tea drinks, and invites resident singers for weekly performances. The cinema also regularly hosts international film culture exchange events. Qiu Xue told reporters that the project has not only increased local villagers' income but also boosted local employment rates.
The popularity of this rural cinema reflects the trend of consumption upgrades in county areas. In recent years, more and more cinemas, coffee shops, bookstores, and gyms have taken root in county towns and townships, becoming a vivid illustration of consumption going and coordinated urban-rural development.
Li Jialu, director of the Distribution Development Department at the Ministry of Commerce, noted that environmental optimization has released consumption demand. County and township commercial networks continue to improve, logistics and distribution networks are getting stronger, and chain brands are accelerating their, further enriching consumption choices. Previously, latent demand restricted by geographical space has been continuously converted into actual consumption.
Enriching event carriers to bring warmth to cultural tourism services. A cultural and sports show featuring rural 'niang niang' (aunties) as protagonistswas held in Daxi Town, Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, Chongqing. Ordinary housewives, farming experts, and doting grandmothers gathered to walk onto basketball courts and catwalks, showcasing their unique charm.
This content-rich rural 'niang niang show' not only drove a boom in local accommodation, dining, and specialty agricultural product sales, but also stimulated the nighttime economy and folk fair consumption. Data shows that during the event period, Daxi Town alone achieved comprehensive revenue of nearly 20 million yuan.
Ran Fei, Party secretary of Daxi Town, stated that the town will continue to build the 'niang niang' basketball event as a distinctive cultural and sports brand, regularly carrying out various mass cultural and sports activities to gather popularity, promote consumption, and revitalize the countryside through culture and sports, continuously enhancing villagers' happiness and sense of gain.
A recently published opinion by nine ministries including the Ministry of Commerce proposes to cultivate distinctive consumption scenarios such as 'healthcare plus, cultural tourism plus, agriculture plus, folk custom plus, and historical classics plus,' supporting neighboring counties in jointly creating cross-regional classic consumption routes.
Yuan Xiaoming, assistant minister of commerce, noted that distinctive consumption scenarios are an important vehicle for unleashing the potential of county consumption. We will promote the integrated development of commerce, agriculture, culture, tourism, and sports, deeply integrating commerce with cultural tourism, sports events, intangible cultural heritage exhibitions, and folk festivals. Using distinctive consumption scenarios and complete commercial support, we will convert more 'tourists' into 'customers.'
