Recently, the 30th Yangtze River Delta Performance Trade Fair was held in Huangshan City.

By day, visitors immerse themselves in scenic beauty; by night, they enjoy captivating performances. In the era of "Culture and Tourism 3.0," the performance economy is becoming a new engine for Huangshan's cultural and tourism transformation. It drives the integration of technology, culture, and natural landscape resources, forging a new path for industrial upgrading. Can this performance-driven transformation help Huangshan build new advantages in fierce regional competition? Recently, reporters visited Huangshan to observe how the performance economy is injecting new vitality into this renowned tourist city and unlocking fresh growth opportunities.

Huangshan boasts two major cultural symbols: "Mount Huangshan" and "Huizhou Culture." Its exceptional natural landscapes provide an irreplaceable backdrop for tourism performances, while the profound Huizhou culture offers rich creative material for such productions.

According to an authoritative report released by the China Tourism Academy, "Culture and Tourism 3.0" represents an inevitable trend. It is characterized by a focus on developing new quality productive forces, guided by the construction of a modern industrial system. This approach aims to comprehensively shape cultural IPs to drive industrial innovation, fully leverage AI to fuel technological advancements, and promote the transformation and upgrading of the cultural and tourism sector. Against this backdrop, Huangshan's performance economy is embracing unprecedented development opportunities. Numerous innovative, culturally rich performance spectacles are now flourishing in this region where natural beauty and humanistic heritage converge.

In addition to tourism performances tied to scenic areas, Huangshan City has hosted two consecutive sessions of the Baidu Music Festival in 2024 and 2025. It has also launched the "Tea Song Mini-Theater" located within the ancient Huizhou City and the "Unique Anhui Charm Mini-Theater" situated inside the Huangshan Modern Service Industry Industrial Park.

Beyond offering tourists a more diverse cultural and tourism experience, the performance economy has also demonstrated a strong radiating and driving effect. The play Joy in Huizhou Prefecture takes the ancient Huizhou Prefecture Office as its stage backdrop and draws inspiration from local folk tales. Through its processional and interactive performances, it immerses visitors in the fascinating anecdotes of ancient Huizhou and the patriotic sentiments of Huizhou merchants. In 2025, the play was performed over 300 times, welcoming 107,300 visitors and generating revenue of 5.72 million yuan. It also drove approximately 200 million yuan in related consumption in surrounding industries such as dining, accommodation, and transportation.

From diversifying its business formats to continuously unleashing the integrated value of "performance +," and further benchmarking against industry leaders to find breakthrough strategies, Huangshan's path toward upgrading its performance economy has become increasingly clear. As its landscapes dance with performances and tradition harmonizes with modernity, Huangshan's next act is worth anticipating.

Source: Anhui Daily