Ancient city Anyang emerges as popular tourist destination

Anyang, a national historical and cultural city in central China's Henan Province, has transformed into a popular tourist destination by integrating its rich cultural heritage with tourism in recent years.

The city, known for its proud history and brilliant culture, has received record-breaking tourist visits since the beginning of last year. During this year's week-long National Day holiday, it witnessed a tourism boom.

Within the city, a museum for the World Heritage Site Yinxu, the Yinxu Museum, which opened to the public on Feb. 26, has become a major draw for visitors.

Tourists visit the Memorial Hall of the Hongqi Canal in Linzhou, a county-level city administered by Anyang, central China's Henan Province. (Xinhua/Hao Yuan)

"We came specifically for oracle bone inscription," said Zhao Rui, a tourist hailing from Beijing. Oracle bone inscription, an ancient form of Chinese writing that was engraved on animal bones and turtle plastron for divination during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 B.C.), is the source of Chinese characters. Zhao chose Anyang as the first stop of her family's trip during the National Day holiday.

During the holiday, the museum held featured exhibitions, including one on oracle bone inscription, calligraphy and seal engraving, innovatively choreographed artistic performances, and organized activities such as night tours in the museum. The number of visitors continued to increase, with visitor arrivals hitting 29,116 on Oct. 3, a record high since the opening of the museum.

The Yinxu scenic area (including the Yinxu Museum) welcomed 195,700 tourist visits during the holiday, a staggering 149.14 increase year on year. Specifically, the Yinxu Museum attracted 180,000 tourist visits during the holiday, and the average daily sales of the museum's creative cultural products reached 370,000 yuan ($51,660).

The National Museum of Chinese Writing is another sought-after destination in Anyang. During the National Day holiday, the museum attracted over 20,000 daily visitor arrivals on average.

An exhibition on oracle bone inscriptions kicked off in the National Museum of Chinese Writing on Oct. 31, showcasing 135 artifacts, including 72 rare pieces, making ancient wisdom accessible through engaging questions and interactive experiences.

"This exhibition represents our fresh approach to properly utilize the oracle bone culture," said Duan Yanqin, deputy curator of the National Museum of Chinese Writing.

Duan added that the museum will continue to make innovations to better promote the creative transformation and development of the oracle bone culture and contribute to establishing Anyang as a new landmark of Chinese culture centered on oracle bone inscriptions.

In addition to traditional culture, Anyang is also known for the Hongqi Canal, an irrigation project built on the steep Taihang Mountains and a major cultural relic site under national protection located in Linzhou, a county-level city administered by Anyang.

Visitors admire oracle bone inscriptions on display at the Yinxu Museum in Anyang, central China's Henan Province. (Photo/Wang Jian'an)

64 years ago, the local people, in order to deal with the severely harsh local environment where they lived, completed the water conservancy project after 10 years of efforts. The Hongqi Canal is a monument inscribing the heroic spirit of the unyielding and valiant local people who dare to fight to change their fate.

The Hongqi Canal scenic area has welcomed over 22 million tourist arrivals since its official operation in 1991.

During the National Day holiday, Anyang rolled out six premium tourism routes for visitors, with themes ranging from Chinese character culture to historical figures and nighttime tours. The 2024 version of the city's promotional video titled "Anyang" also helped fuel tourism growth. The nighttime tourism sector alone attracted over 1.3 million tourist visits during the holiday, according to incomplete statistics.

Thanks to a wide range of cultural and tourism activities, Anyang received nearly 7.63 million tourist visits during the week-long holiday, an increase of 79.81 percent compared to 2023, generating a cumulative tourism revenue of 4.85 billion yuan, up 84.38 percent compared to last year.