Chinese scenic spots embrace “cloud” tourism

After more than a month of suspension, scenic attractions in China have reopened one after
another as the situation of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) becomes under control.
To provide visitors a safe environment, the scenic attractions have strengthened disinfection
measures, guided tourists to avoid cross-infection, limited the massive flows of tourists and rolled
out non-contact ticketing services.In addition, through developing cloud tourism, the cultural
tourist industry is exploring new ways of operation and expanding the development space.
Yungang Grottoes in Datong city, north China’s Shanxi province reopened on March 1, and
received 130 tourists that day. Yao Jie and Zhao Xu, two citizens from Datong, were the first
visitors entering the scenic site. According to Yao, the travel experience was fresh, not only
because of the smaller number of tourists, but also strict control measures taken there.
Before entry, tourists must have their basic information and health status recorded, and their body
temperatures measured. The scenic site also warns visitors to wear masks and avoid gathering and
spitting through a speaker.
While putting tourist flow under control in the one week after reopening, the scenic site has been
making attempts to present a clear and panoramic view of the tourist area by virtual reality
technology to satisfy tourists’ demand. The efforts have made online sightseeing a major source of
income for the scenic spot.
The online travel services enable tourists to see clearly grottoes of different heights and shapes on
their cell phones, go to all corners of the scenic site, have a close look at the Buddha sculptures
from all angles and enjoy professional tour guide services.
Yungang Grottoes started digitalization in 2015, said Ning Bo, head of the digitalization
department with Yungang Grottoes Research Institute.
To present the grottoes to more people, Ning’s team visited the Palace Museum and Dunhuang
Academy China for 7 times to learn about technologies such as data collection, color management,
and network application. They also established their own modelling team.
Tianzhushan Mountain in east China’s Anhui province is 1,000 kilometers away from Yungang
Grottoes. After a month-long suspension, the scenic site reopened on Feb. 24 and received 215
visitors that day.
The scenic spot had formulated a marketing plan for the Chinese New Year, but due to the
stagnation caused by the spread of coronavirus, it had to adjust the plan and find a new way out.
Wang Quanhai, chairman of Anhui Tianzhushan Tourism Development Co., Ltd., said
Tianzhushan Mountain is a regional tourist attraction, and he was thinking about how to upgrade
the regional scenic spot into a national one over the past month.
Wang and his colleagues proposed to move the scenic spot online. Through online sightseeing,
online tour guide services, and livestreaming, more visitors could have access to scenery of the
mountain, Wang explained, adding that this online model offers new travel experiences and more
pleasure for visitors, and makes the process more immersive.
While reopening the scenic site, the company has restarted the construction of a smart scenic spot
it had planned. According to Wang, in the near future, big data recorded will help the scenic spot
learn the source of visitors, their means of transportation, duration of stay and consumption. In
addition, multiple functions will be launched such as smart parking, ticket booking, and tourist
protection.
The scenic spot is upgrading both hardware and software to improve management and services,
Wang said. “We’ll improve our products and services in order to better serve the tourists,” he said,
believing that the scenic spot will embrace prosperity after the epidemic is completely curbed.