Photographed by Pei Yanwei

　　Hello everyone! I am honored to be invited to share a presentation at this Daoist Mountain Alliance work conference. Upgrading scenic area industrial construction is an important issue facing every scenic area today, and we at Hengshan Mountain Scenic Area have been dedicated to researching and resolving this issue. I will share with you some situations and practices of Hengshan Mountain, hoping to offer inspiration for further discussion.

1. Basic Situation of Hengshan Mountain Scenic Area

　　Hengshan Mountain, along with Mount Tai (East), Mount Hua (West), Mount Heng (South), and Mount Song (Central), are collectively known as the Five Great Mountains, renowned throughout China. It has been a place of imperial worship throughout history and is considered a sacred mountain of the Chinese nation. It is strategically located, controlling access to the plains from the northern plateau. This geographic location also served as a natural boundary between nomadic and agricultural cultures. The Great Wall winds across it, with passes like Yanmen and Pingxing standing guard. Its 70 kilometers of walls, dotted with beacon towers, have been a battleground throughout history.

Hengshan Mountain Ancient Architectural Group

　　Temples were first built on the main peak of Hengshan Mountain in the early Western Han Dynasty. In the first year of Taiyan (435 AD) of Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Heng Temple was built again and has been rebuilt and expanded since the Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, lasting to this day. There are 36 temples, pavilions, and towers on Hengshan Mountain, with 82 temple halls. There is a saying: "Three Temples, Four Shrines, Seven Palaces, Eight Caves, Nine Pavilions, and Twelve Temples." Hengshan Mountain is characterized by dangerous terrain and magnificent scenery. Throughout history, emperors, generals, and scholars have visited, with inscriptions and artwork left behind, some even from Emperor Kangxi's reign. The main peak, Tianfeng Ridge, is located 4 kilometers south of Hunyuan County, Shanxi Province, with an altitude of 2016.1 meters. It is known as the "North Pillar of Heaven and Earth," "Famous Mountain in the Wilderness," "Number One Mountain of Northern Shaanxi," and "Fifth Cave Heaven of Daoism."

　　Hengshan Mountain's "Number One Scenery"—the Hanging Temple—was built in the later Northern Wei Dynasty (around 471 AD), and has a history of 1500 years. It is known for its "uniqueness," "cleverness," and "danger." In February 1982, it was listed as a second-batch national key cultural relics protection unit by the State Council. In 2010, it was selected by Time magazine as one of the "Top Ten Most Dangerous Buildings in the World." The integration of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism makes it a prime example of harmonious Chinese culture.

Hanging Temple in the snow

　　Hunyuan County, where Hengshan Mountain Scenic Area is located, is rich in cultural and tourism resources, including the provincial-level historical and cultural city of "Hunyuan Ancient City," the national-level wetland park of "Shenxi Wetland," the "Huaqing Pool of Shanxi"—"Tangtou Hot Springs," the national traditional Chinese medicine herb "Zheng Beiqi," and the site where the Shanghai Museum's treasure, the "Xi Zun," was unearthed and the famous sword from Li Bai's poem, "Shao Xi Sword." There are 29 cultural relics protection units in the county, including 7 national-level, 8 provincial-level, 5 municipal-level, and 9 county-level units.

　　In recent years, based on our resources such as the sacred mountain, the famous city, hot springs, wetlands, and Astragalus membranaceus, and aiming at the development goals put forward by the municipal Party committee—to build Hengshan Mountain into a 5A-level scenic area integrating sightseeing tourism, cultural experience, health and wellness resorts, and outdoor fitness—and the county Party committee's goal of creating an "All-Encompassing Hengshan Mountain, Panoramic Hunyuan," we have deeply implemented the development strategy of "raising the cultural and ecological banner, building a characteristic leisure city, and following the path of tourism and health and wellness." We are focusing on promoting all industries to converge on cultural tourism, pushing the tourism industry from "scenic area tourism" to a "whole-region tourism" development model. We are striving to build the Hengshan Mountain ecological health and wellness demonstration area into a Shanxi model of implementing the "two mountains" theory, and making every effort to create a North Mount International Tourism Destination, achieving remarkable results.

　　Various cultural and tourism projects are being vigorously constructed, and the county's cultural and tourism industry development is showing a pleasing scene. In January 2023, the Hengshan Mountain-Hanging Temple scenic area received 77,200 tourists, four times the historical peak of 15,400; ticket revenue reached 2.1775 million yuan, 2.5 times the historical peak of 629,400 yuan, achieving a successful start to the year. During the National Day Golden Week in October 2023, all scenic areas in the county received a total of 30.55 million tourists, with Hengshan Mountain scenic area receiving 215,500 tourists, and ticket revenue exceeding 6.64 million yuan. The county achieved a total tourism revenue of 327 million yuan, showing a strong rebound after the pandemic, with a significant increase in tourist numbers and revenue. The year is expected to exceed 3 million tourist receptions, providing a guarantee for the high-quality development of the cultural and tourism industry.

　　1. Comprehensively construct a whole-region tourism pattern. In accordance with the development goal of creating an "All-Encompassing Hengshan Mountain, Panoramic Hunyuan," we have compiled a high-standard cultural tourism development plan. This plan depicts a "Phoenix Spreading its Wings" blueprint for cultural tourism industry development, spanning 100 kilometers. The plan uses the central Hengshan Mountain, Hanging Temple, and Hunyuan Ancient City as the body; the northern Shenxi Wetland as the head; the southern Qianfo Ridge and Tangtou Hot Springs as the tail; Tianfeng Ridge—Shujian Mountain—Wufeng Mountain as the east wing; Cui Pingshan—Longshan—Lingyunkou as the west wing; the transportation road network as the bones; the Hun River and Tang River as the blood; and North Yue culture as the soul.

　　2. Make every effort to streamline management systems and mechanisms. The director of the Hengshan Mountain Scenic Area Management Center also serves as a member of the county government's leading group, overseeing the county's cultural and tourism work. The county's cultural and tourism director also serves as a member of the leading group of the Hengshan Mountain Scenic Area Management Center. This leadership structure has promoted the integration of forces in scenic area construction and the county's cultural and tourism industry development. We have promoted the separation of government functions and enterprise functions, with the scenic area management center responsible for business guidance and daily management, and the Hengshan Mountain cultural and tourism company responsible for the operation of business operations, laying a solid institutional foundation for the development of the scenic area.

　　3. Accelerate the improvement of cultural and tourism infrastructure. Actively addressing infrastructure shortcomings, a total investment of 1.306 billion yuan was completed in the Hengshan Mountain—Hanging Temple core scenic area improvement, the Hunyuan Ancient City series of renovations and upgrades, and the National Highway 239 relocation project; accelerating the advancement of the 1.278 billion yuan investment in the construction of the whole-region tourism service center, Hanging Temple landscape improvement, Shenxi National Wetland Park construction, and Tangtou Hot Spring Sanatorium renovation project; and commencing construction of the 1.741 billion yuan investment in Hengshan Mountain scenic area infrastructure construction and the overall protection and renovation project of the historically and culturally significant city. Upon completion of all projects, the county's cultural and tourism infrastructure construction will undergo a fundamental transformation.

　　Fourth, we are deeply excavating and promoting the historical and cultural context. We organized the county's cultural figures to cooperate with universities and research institutions across the province and beyond, comprehensively excavating the historical stories, cultural value, and spiritual connotation nurtured by "Eternal Northern Mount, Virtuous Hunyuan." We established the Hengshan Mountain Academy, invited professors from prestigious universities such as Tsinghua University to organize the Zhuanxu Culture Symposium, restarted the Wenmiao Kongzi memorial ceremony, and daily sacrificial rituals, which had been suspended for 100 years, and launched a batch of Northern Mount culture theoretical achievements and a series of cultural activities. We strengthened publicity in a large-scale and multi-faceted manner, publishing a series of articles on Northern Mount culture in national media such as "China National Tourism" and "Image," and edited albums such as "Hunyuan," "Famous People from Hunyuan Ancient City," "Hengshan Mountain Travelogue," "Folk Cultural Legends of Hunyuan," and "Interpretation of the Huixian Mansion Immortal Culture." We also produced several Hengshan Mountain themed films, promotional videos, and Kuaishou and Douyin short videos. Hunyuan and Hengshan Mountain frequently appeared on CCTV and various levels of news media.

　　Fifth, we are increasing the intensity of cultural and creative product development. We are actively guiding social capital to invest in the development of cultural and creative products, forming a multi-channel investment mechanism, and have achieved certain results. Up to now, the county has developed more than 300 varieties of cultural and creative products, including: 30 series and more than 60 varieties of cultural and creative products developed by the Hengshan Mountain scenic area, 9 series and more than 100 varieties developed by the Hunyuan Zhouya, 16 series and more than 100 varieties developed by the Hunyuan Wenmiao, and 3 series and 67 varieties developed by the newly built Astragalus Cultural Park.

　　Hunyuan will take the creation of a national-level tourism resort and the creation of a 5A-level Hengshan Mountain scenic area as the leading force, actively raise funds through multiple channels, further consolidate its foundation, and forge ahead, striving to transform the cultural and tourism industry into a pillar industry for the county's economic development.

　　First, we are accelerating the pace of "double creation" and "one area" creation. We will promptly complete the compilation of the "Landscape Quality Evaluation Report" for the creation of a 5A-level scenic area, planning to complete the 5A-level transformation of the Hengshan Mountain scenic area within one year; simultaneously promoting the creation of a national tourism resort, striving to complete the provincial-level assessment this year, and completing the creation simultaneously in 2024. In addition, our Hunyuan County has been designated by the provincial government as a pilot for high-quality development of cultural tourism and health preservation agglomeration zones. This is a powerful tool to accelerate the construction of cultural tourism and health preservation as a strategic pillar industry, and it is also an important project for the improvement and upgrading of Hengshan Mountain's cultural tourism and health preservation, and its demonstration and leadership. We will seize the opportunity and strive to successfully create a provincial cultural tourism and health preservation high-quality development agglomeration zone this year.

　　Second, we will improve infrastructure. Based on the 5A standard, we are actively seeking funds from various channels to implement the 493 million yuan Hengshan Mountain scenic area infrastructure construction project, which includes the construction of supporting service facilities, transportation transformation, ecological projects, and water supply facilities; accelerating the implementation of the 1.248 billion yuan overall protection and renovation project of the historically and culturally significant city, comprehensively enhancing the cultural connotation and tourism experience of Hunyuan Ancient City; and implementing the Northern Mount Pilgrimage Avenue construction project, connecting the whole-region tourism service center with the Hengshan Mountain—Hanging Temple scenic area, Hunyuan Ancient City, Shenxi Wetland, Longpengyu, Ciyao Town, and Hot Spring Health Preservation Town through a 5.4-kilometer slow-moving cultural corridor.

　　Third, we are accelerating investment attraction. Focusing on the development goal of "Hengshan Mountain throughout the territory, panoramic view of Hunyuan," this year we launched a total of 16 investment attraction projects in the cultural tourism sector, including projects such as hot spring resorts, the later operation of wetland park development, the development of important scenic spots, and projects such as the construction of homestays and hotels, winemaking, ceramics, and the operation of the Liangfen Culture Park. To promote investment attraction in cultural tourism projects, we have organized teams to attract investment in various places and actively participated in the city's investment attraction activities, inviting Wang Jianlin's team and others to conduct field investigations. We also organized a large-scale cultural tourism and health preservation project promotion meeting in Beijing, attended by leaders from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, industry experts, and tourism companies. China Tourism Group, China Power Group, and many other companies subsequently led teams to our region for investigation and discussions, and some projects reached preliminary cooperation intentions. Our cultural tourism investment attraction team is constantly working, and we believe it will bring better results.

　　Fourth, we are increasing marketing efforts. Always taking culture as the soul of tourism, we are vigorously organizing various cultural and tourism promotional activities, connecting with various exhibitions, and using national first-line media and online media to publicize and promote the spirit of Northern Mount culture and cultural tourism products. In particular, this year we invited Dong Yuhui and Yu Minhong's Oriental Selection team to hold a live broadcast event at Hengshan Mountain, which produced good publicity results. We hope to strengthen the connection and coordination between the Five Great Mountains and other brother scenic areas, organize key personnel to study abroad, actively learn from the development experience of brother scenic areas, further broaden the cultural tourism market, further expand the development ideas of cultural tourism creative products, and strive to improve the development speed of the cultural tourism industry.

　　This river and mountains are beautiful as a painting, enough for you to linger for many years, the stars reappear on the top of the mountain; if you ask me where the mountains and rivers are, follow me and take a big step forward. Cultural and tourism development has become a trend of the times. The cultural and tourism industry is a wealth-creating industry and a strategic industry, with a multiplier effect and special functions of "one industry prospering, all industries prospering." Stones from other hills may be used to polish our jade. We hope to use this conference platform to make more friends of like minds, learn better development experiences, strengthen exchanges and cooperation, and work together to provide better Hengshan Mountain wisdom for the upgrading of the cultural tourism industry.

　　Finally, I wish the conference a complete success! May the cultural tourism development of our various scenic areas flourish! I wish all the guests and friends peace of mind and body, happiness and health, and all the best! Eternal Northern Mount, Virtuous Hunyuan welcomes you!

Thank you all!