On the Development of Modern Tourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province

Lin Kaiqiang

Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences

Abstract: Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province is the largest community of the Yi ethnic group in China, which has developed a rich culture over its long history. Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture also boasts the modern aerospace industry, unique landscapes of mountains and valleys, and featured modern agriculture. All these provide the prefecture with rich tourism resources. Since the mid-1980s, modern tourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture has gone through three stages.(a) Infancy stage (the mid-1980s to late-1990s): In this period, tourism as an industry was small in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and was mainly engaged in the reception business. (b) Operation stage (2000 to 2016): In this period, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture began to develop nature tourism relying on its magnificent mountains, which promoted economic development in certain areas.(c) Region-wide development stage: In 2017, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture began to seek regionwide development in tourism in response to rural revitalization. Since then, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture has witnessed a profound transformation in its tourism industry. The region, focusing on developing regional featured agriculture, has made great efforts to promote rural development and agritourism, with the aim of enabling rural residents to benefit from the development of the modern economy and rural areas to achieve dual development in both traditional production and modern economy. This paper reviewed the development course of modern tourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in order to reveal the relationship between the market and the policies. Though tourism market explorations usually come before policy introduction, the policies are necessary to regulate the market for its sound development. In addition, this paper further investigated the profound impact of modern tourism on Liangshan’s social development.

Keywords: Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, modern tourism, tourism development, social development

Introduction

Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture has been a popular destination among tourists both at home and abroad since the early 20th century, thanks to its unique natural landscapes of mountains and valleys as well as the culture and customs of the Yi ethnic group. While serving tourists, the development of modern tourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture has delivered great economic benefits to the whole prefecture.①In 2018, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture received 46,511,900 visits, up 5.22% year on year, and registered a total tourism revenue of RMB 43.667 billion, up 20.93% year on year. In 2019, it received 48,239,800 visits, up 3.71% year on year, and registered a total tourism revenue of RMB53.021 billion, up 21.42% year on year. In 2020, it received 28,882,700 visits, recovering to 59.87% of the pre-pandemic level, and achieved a tourism revenue of RMB27.507 billion, recovering to 51.88% of the pre-pandemic level. Source: Development and Reform Commission of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture.The abundant tourism resources and fast-growing tourism industry there have also drawn extensive attention from scholars.

In recent years, scholars have done a lot of research on the tourism industry in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, focusing on the following aspects. (a) The development of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture’s tourism resources. Xu Qian (2015) analyzed the development status of the Torch Festival of the Yi ethnic group as a tourist resource and suggested promoting harmony between the protection of the authenticity of intangible cultural heritage and tourism development. Yang Ying (2012) investigated the role of ethnic culture in tourism resource development and the resulting impact and put forward measures for leveraging ethnic ethnic cultural resources to promote tourism development. (b) Local tourism market survey and research. Meng Yue (2012) analyzed the tourist market of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and put forward suggestions. Geng Xuanzhen (2014)investigated the behaviors, experiences, and feelings of the self-driven tourists, expounded on the development status and existing problems of the self-drive tourist market in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, and proposed targeted measures. (c) Types of tourism. Jing Zhiming(2011) examined the current situation and problems existing in red tourism development in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and put forward suggestions. Yang Ying (2010)studied the development of rural tourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture using the SWOT analysis method. (d) The relationship between Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture’s tourism and government strategies. Geng Xuanzhen (2013) mainly discussed the interactive development strategy between the featured rural tourism and the construction of new socialist countryside in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture. Liu Yuxiang (2021) analyzed the degree of the coupling correlation between the cultural and tourism industry and rural revitalization in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and its evolution using a coupling coordination degree (CCD) model. (e) Overall situation and macroscopical strategies. Zou Hewang (2017)elaborated on the unique advantages and basic paths of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in implementing the region-wide tourism strategy. Wang Meiying et al. (2010) analyzed the situations and problems faced by Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in developing tourism resources and put forward targeted measures to promote the development of local tourism.

The aforementioned studies mainly focused on topics, such as tourism resource development, market analysis, and types of tourism. Little research has been done on the development trend of tourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture from a macro perspective. In particular, in-depth studies covering a long time span are absent. This paper systematically examined the development history of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture’s tourism over the past 30 years from the 1980s and divided it into three stages. It made an in-depth analysis of the logic underlying the evolution of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture’s tourism and provided references for its future development.

Development of Modern Tourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture

In general, the development of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture’s tourism can be roughly divided into three stages as follows.

Infancy Stage (the mid-1980s to late-1990s)

In this period, tourism as an industry began to emerge but was small in scale with backward infrastructure and poor service quality. But it defined the industrial structure of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture’s tourism, paving the way for its further development in the 21st century.

Initial exploration.

In the 1980s, people had neither the idea of traveling nor the idea of running a tourism business. At that time, people visiting Xichang, the capital of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture prefecture for business purposes would take photos in front of the Monument of Yihai Alliance. urban residents of Xichang having trips to Lushan Mountain and Qionghai Lake to enjoy natural scenery on holidays; rural residents from other counties and townships under the jurisdiction of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture prefecture visiting the prefectural capital Xichang to experience the charm of a modern city. This was common in the tourism industry across the country in the 1980s when people’s understanding of tourism and consumption was all about traveling to major cities, buying products not available in their hometown, and experiencing modernity and development represented by these cities.When it came to the 1990s, tourism as an industry in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture began to take off as China ushered in a tourism boom thanks to the continued improvements in people’s life. As more and more people came to Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture on business, a few hospitality providers emerged, merely for reception business, in the wake of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center opening to the public in 1985.

Column 1. Tourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in the 1990s What was tourism like in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in the 1990s?In 1991, Xichang Traffic Travel Agency was established, the first travel agency in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture. In the first few years of the 1990s,there were only three travel agencies and a few hotels in Xichang, making accommodation a headache with the increasing number of tourists. Travel agencies had to bring food with them for group tours to Lugu Lake and found lodgings in local residents’ homes. This primary form of tourism was poor in service quality and lacked rational planning, design, and operation. In terms of supporting facilities, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture was rather backward in the 1990s when the railway was the only link between Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and the outside world, and it was very difficult to buy a train ticket.That’s why people in Xichang referred to it as a city not easy to leave.

Socio-economic value of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture’s tourism in its infancy.

Primary as it is, the emergence of tourism as an industry in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture bears dual significance. First, it delivered substantial economic benefits. In 1994 alone, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture saw 1.5 million tourist arrivals with a revenue of RMB10.7 million. Second,this extensive tourism was a timely and flexible response to the market demand, which in turn drove the prefecture government to do better tourism planning and management at the administrative level.In 1994, the Tourism Bureau of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture Yi Autonomous Prefecture was officially inaugurated, marking a new chapter in the development of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture’s tourism. Despite the difficulties in its infancy, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture did not cease its efforts in exploring ways to develop tourism. During this period, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture defined the basic structure of tourism as an industry in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and developed some scenic spots, paving the way for its further development in the 21st century. From the 1980s to the late 1990s, a number of scenic spots were developed in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, with the majority in Xichang, including Qionghai Lake,Lushan-Huanglian Earth Forest, Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Lingshan Temple, and Yihai Lake in Xichang, Hot Spring of Puge County, Lugu Lake in Yanyuan County, Huili Ancient Town, Mahu Lake in Leibo County, and Dafengding Nature Reserve in Meigu County. From the development of Qionghai Lake Scenic Spot to Dafengding Nature Reserve in Meigu County, Xichang Satellite Launch Center to Huili Ancient Town, it proved that Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture had shifted its tourism focus from urban scenic spots to natural ones, a signal that people were changing their ideas about tourism. This is also the result of people in modern cities tending to relive history and get close to nature through tourism in the industrial society. This, in turn, promoted local residents to discover the value of natural landscape resources.

New opportunities for tourism development in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture.

At the turn of the 21st century, China introduced a variety of policies to vigorously develop tourism, creating new opportunities for tourism development in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture.In December 1998, tourism was identified as a new driver of the national economy at the Central Economic Work Conference. In 1981, the State Council formulated the first tourism development plan,which was included in China’s seventh Five-Year Plan (1986-1990) five years later. In the plan, tourism was identified as a component of the national economy, therefore providing the necessary policy guarantee for tourism. Since then, the tourism industry has embarked on its way of industrialization along with the development of the national economy. The industrialization of tourism echoes China’s strategy of expanding domestic demand and transforming its economic structure in the 1990s. In 1992, China improved its market mechanism, and tourism began to assume greater responsibilities in the development of the national economy. In the last decade of the 20th century, tourism started its industrial and market-oriented development. From the late 1990s to the early 2000, the development of tourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture was driven and guided by two factors, that is, the market stimulation brought by the 1999 International Horticultural Exposition held in Kunming and policy support of the Western Development Strategy issued by the central government.

Column 2. The 1999 International Horticultural Exposition and Western Development Strategy In 1999, the International Horticultural Exposition was successfully held in Yunnan’s capital city Kunming, and Yunnan enjoyed a tourism boom as a result, but Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, as a stop on the way to Kunming by land,failed to attract tourists to spend time there. Against this backdrop, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture had to find a way out for its own tourism development and launched a combination of policies.In 1999, the central government decided to implement the Western Development Strategy, and Sichuan province set the goals of catch-up and leapfrog development.In carrying out the Western Development Strategy, the state invested RMB800 billion in transportation infrastructure construction. According to the plan, 150,000 kilometers of highways would be built in western China to ensure every village is accessible as long as conditions permit. Most of the national highway trunk lines were constructed as per the standard of expressways, which greatly improved the transportation facilities in western China, eliminating the transportation infrastructure problems that hindered the development of tourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture. During this period, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture also launched the first round of the Grain for Green Campaign, focusing on restoring the ecological environment of the mountain land, and promoting the sustainable development of

various industries in the prefecture. The Western Development Strategy and the restoration of the ecological environment brought direct benefits to the tourism industry of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture. The improved transportation conditions shortened the time tourists had to spend on the road and made traveling affordable. The restoration of the ecological environment in mountain lands paved the way for the development of tourism. Such moves facilitated the new changes in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture’s tourism after 2000.

Operation Stage (2000-2016)

In this period, tourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture entered a stage of comprehensive and rapid development, with international tourists becoming a new source of visitors. Region-wide tourism began to take shape, and the tourism industry transformed from business reception to the pillar industry of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture’s regional economy.

Attracting a wide range of domestic and international tourists.

When it came to the 21st century, tourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture experienced great changes as international tourists provided a new source of visitors.Together with domestic tourists, they contributed greatly to local economic growth. Here is a table showing the number of domestic tourists to Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and their consumption from 2000 to 2005:

Table 1. Statistics of domestic tourists to Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture from 2000 to 2005

The data shows that both the number of domestic tourists to Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and the revenue generated by tourism saw an upward trend from 2000 to 2005(except for the SARS-affected 2003, which highlighted the vulnerability of tourism to epidemics and natural disasters). During this period, domestic tourists dominated the tourism market of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture.

What about international tourists? The number of international tourists to Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and their consumption from 2000 to 2005 are listed in the table below.

Table 2. Statistics of international tourists to Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture from 2000 to 2005

The data shows that international tourists to Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture only made up a small portion of the total number of international tourists to Sichuan province, 0.26 percent in 2000 and merely 0.028 percent in 2005. Anyway, it provided a new source of visitors for Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and was a new change in the local tourism industry. This shows that Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture was drawing the attention of international tourists. Small as the international tourists were in numbers, they were from across the world. Specifically, 39.63 percent of the international tourists came from the US, 21.07 percent from Japan, 12.4 percent from Europe,10.95 percent from Southeast Asia, and 15.95 percent from other countries and regions. Xichang Satellite Launch Center and the culture and folk activities of the Yi ethnic group represented by the Torch Festival were the major attractions for international tourists.

In addition to delivering economic benefits, the rapid development of tourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in the early 21st century increased the communication between local people and the outside world, allowing them to throw away outdated ideas and embrace their cultural identity. Although the tourism industry in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture was not mature at that time, accompanied by single and simple tourism products,Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture made great efforts to make it visible among tourists.Here are some promotional events with domestic and international influence carried out by Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture from 2000 to 2005.

Table 3. Promotional events with domestic and international influence carried out by Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture from 2000 to 2005

Achieving leapfrog development.

Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture’s tourism industry entered an all-around development stage with its improved social governance and policy support from the state. It gradually became an important part of the province’s tourism industry and soon ushered in the opportunity for comprehensive development.

In 2006, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture saw another historic opportunity for tourism development. Sichuan province listed tourism as one of the four pillar industries of its economic development and decided to speed up the development of resources in the Panxi region and identified tourism resources as one of the four major resources to be developed. Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, located in the heart of the “Grand Shangri-La tour” in the tourism planning of Sichuan province, is rich in tourism resources. With the help of “one conference and two initiatives,”①The “one conference and two initiatives” refers to the efforts made by Xichang City in planning and implementing six featured tourism routes in 2016 by holding the 2nd Winter Tourism Conference of Sichuan Province, building an excellent tourism city in China and a model city of environmental protection in Sichuan Province to further develop the tourism industry.the region created a new situation for tourism development featuring improved tourism infrastructure, refreshed city image, and remarkable progress in the tourism industry. In 2007, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture saw a massive surge in tourism growth and achieved leapfrog development. The tourism industry transformed from reception to being integrated into local economic development, growing into the pillar industry of the local economy. Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture’s tourism not only served as an important driving force for the rapid rise of Sichuan’s tourism but also stood out in China’s tourism. Following the prevailing development model practiced by the domestic tourism industry, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture concentrated its efforts on developing routes to connect the attractions and exploring themes of tourism. Here are some routes developed by Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture during this period: (a) Chengdu-Xichang-Panzhihua; (b) Chengdu-Xichang-Panzhihua-Kunming; and (c)Chengdu-Ya’an-Ganzi-Muli-Yanyuan-Diqing-Lijiang-Dali-Panzhihua-Xichang-Chengdu.

The first one, leading to the sunshine-rich Panxi region, has become a featured route for tourists to spend winter in Sichuan province. The second route is an ideal one to experience the customs and traditions of the ethnic minorities in southwestern China and the revolutionary history of the Communist Party of China. It has become the preferred route for travel agencies and self-drive tourists who are going to travel in western China. The third one connects the icon destinations in Sichuan and Yunnan, which are part of the Shangri-La Ecotourism Area, and features tours to experience the customs and traditions of the ethnic minorities in southwestern China. It has become a tourist route with an international competitive edge. The development of these routes signals that Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture is working to break the geographic limits that hinder its development and advance coordinated regional cooperation and development. That means regionwide tourism is taking shape in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture.

In 2012, Ya’an-Xichang Expressway was open to traffic, which greatly promoted Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture’s region-wide tourism development. As self-drive travel became popular,Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture became a mass destination among tourists. As of 2015,Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture had received 37.2955 million tourist arrivals, up 17.8 percent year on year. The total tourism income reached RMB25.166 billion, with a year-on-year growth of 33.2 percent, which was 6.2 percent higher than that of the whole province and accounted for 19.1 percent of the GDP of the prefecture. It is obvious that the contribution of tourism to economic development is comprehensive. In addition to directly driving the development of other industries,it also forms a synergy with these industries. The emergence of tourism-driven real estate and agritourism is an example of this synergy.

Synergy between tourism and other industries.

Sunshine wellness tourism, the combination of tourism and real estate, is a powerful force boosting Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture’s real estate market. This also signals a change in people’s understanding of tourism that a tourist destination also serves as a home shared by tourists and the locals. In 2016, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture invested RMB85 billion to develop real estate projects to support region-wide tourism.①The 2016 Tourism Development Report of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture issued by the Development and Reform Commission of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture.Xichang City, Miyi County, and other places in the Panxi region launched wellness tourism-based real estate projects to meet the market demand brought by booming tourism. At the same time,the original route for tours to the sunshine-rich Panxi region was further extended.②The 2016 Tourism Development Report of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture issued by the Development and Reform Commission of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture.

The new route: Chengdu-Yihai-Jianshe Village-Qionghai Lake-Luoji Mountain-Zhuanxu Karst Cave-Huili Ancient Town-Hongge Hot Spring-Ertan National Forest Park & Gesala Ecotourism Area-Lugu Lake-Hongmo Hot Spring-Taoyuan Village-Yele Town-Chengdu.

Driven by tourism, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture also saw fast development in crop farming. For example, flower planting not only enriches traditional crop farming but also paves the way for later agritourism.③Source: Portal of the People’s Government of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, at 00:00, October 17, 2011.

In 2010, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture planted 16,000mu(about 10.67 square kilometers) of flowers, registering an output value of over RMB159 million, and ranked first in Sichuan in terms of the outputs of fresh-cut flowers and potted flowers, creating more than 20,000 jobs. About 80 percent of its fresh-cut flowers and potted flowers were sold to Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and other places, and 10 to 15 percent were exported to countries and regions, such as Singapore, Japan, and South Korea. It is estimated that flower planting in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture will be increased to 50,000mu(about 33.33 square kilometers), generating an annual sales revenue of RMB1 billion in 2015.

Since the proposal to implement a rural revitalization strategy at hte 19th CPC National Congress in 2017 and the issue of the Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Comprehensively Promoting Rural Revitalization in 2022, tourism has become an important driving force for accelerating urban and rural development and the construction of socialist new countryside in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture.Agritourism and poverty alleviation-dedicated rural tourism have delivered direct benefits to the local residents in the rural areas of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture.

Region-Wide Tourism and the Practice of Agritourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture(since 2017)

In this period, agritourism was booming in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture,which provided solutions for achieving the strategic goal of rural revitalization and poverty alleviation through tourism.

As early as 2015, agritourism actually mushroomed in Xichang City, Dechang County, and Yuexi County, and other places, are driven by the tourism market demand. This is a typical case of market response coming before policy-making and providing ideas for policy making. The advantages of agritourism fully echoed the goal of the Rural Revitalization Strategy introduced in 2017. Poverty alleviation is the fundamental goal of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture’s efforts in comprehensively promoting rural revitalization in 2022, and agritourism has provided an optimal solution to it, that is, alleviating poverty by developing tourism.①Agritourism came into being in Europe in the mid-19th century, and this was the starting stage. It experienced rapid development in the mid to late 20th century when agritourism expanded from Europe to Japan. In this period, diverse tourism projects and business models were developed, resulting in an improved tourist experience. With its continuous development, merely sightseeing tours can no longer meet tourists’ needs, and tourism calls for comprehensive development. As more and more forms of holiday, leisure, and recreation activities are developed, agritourism enters a stage of steady development. Agritourism is the result of the combination of economic development and traditional agriculture in modern society. Although there is not a clear definition for its development model, the communities will adopt the model that fits their realities. To sum up, agritourism is a new business type integrating agricultural development, ecological environment, culture, and tourism.

Column 3. Rural wellness tourism in Dech ang County Agritourism, as a means of poverty reduction, sheds light on the rural revitalization in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture. In 2017, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture identified 136 key poverty-stricken villages that needed to be lifted out of poverty by developing tourism. These counties were also made on the national list of key villages for poverty alleviation through rural tourism. A variety of innovative models were created, such as “leveraging scenic spots to lift poverty-stricken villages out of poverty,” “paired assistance between competent individuals and povertystricken households,” “setting up cooperatives to help farmers get rid of poverty,” and“introducing companies to rural areas to help farmers.” Guided by the Five-Year Plan(2016-2020), Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture stepped up the development of key villages for poverty alleviation through rural tourism on an annual basis. Owing to its natural resources and featured agriculture, Dechang County explored a path of alleviating poverty by developing rural wellness tourism.In 2018, Dechang County carried out scientific planning for three areas within its jurisdiction, including Daping Village in Dezhou Town, Anning Village in Xiaogao Town, and Lisu Water Village in Leyue Town. They were identified as a key pilot zone in the county to develop wellness tourism. The wellness base in Jiaoban Village featured fresh fruit picking and an agreeable environment. Living here, tourists can

enjoy the beautiful scenery from their windows. The surrounding farmhouses also began to develop wellness tourism. The owners renovated their own houses for wellness purposes. The wellness base in Lisu Water Village features unique ethnic customs of the Lisu ethnic group, where you can enjoy the sunshine healthcare and experience the ethnic customs of the Lisu ethnic group at close quarters. The wellness base in Daping Village mainly constitutes several large agritainment farmhouses, such as Luoji Sunshine Healthcare Center, Healthcare Farm of the No. 8 Team of Daping Village, the Healthcare Center in Anning Village of Xiaogao Town, and the Hanshen Rose Garden. It has attracted tourists from places, such as Chengdu and Chongqing for wellness, leisure, and vacation.

Tourism injected vigor and creativity into Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture’s social development and promoted the introduction and standardization of relevant regulations and policies, which in turn ensured the sound and sustainable development of the tourism industry. It proved that markets and policies are in a mutually beneficial relationship. In December 2019, the 10th Rural Cultural Tourism Festival (Winter) of Sichuan province kicked off in Ningnan County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture. The festival achieved full success due to the development of region-wide tourism across the prefecture and the in-depth implementation of the Rural Revitalization Strategy. In addition, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture vigorously initiated the village renovation campaign by repairing flower terraces, village plaques and fences and improving environmental conditions, to build a beautiful and livable countryside and pave the way for agritourism development.

Learning Practices of Other Countries and Considerations on Future Development

In this section, the author draws on the ideas and practices of foreign countries in developing rural tourism in the hope of providing ideas for Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture to realize the goal of the Rural Revitalization Strategy by developing rural tourism.

Developing Featured Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Breeding Through “One Place One Brand” Program

Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture has developed featured agriculture and animal husbandry and breeding based on traditional crop farming. Some products have successively won the honor of China’s geographical indication certification products, showing immense potential in Sichuan’s economy as a whole. The rural communities in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture can push the development of existing featured agriculture and animal husbandry and breeding further to ensure that every community has its own brand product.①The concept of “One Place One Brand” in this paper is inspired by the “One Village One Product” (OVOP) movement, a program initiated by the Japanese politician Morihiko Hiramatsu to support rural revitalization. The movement was initiated in the 1970s when the “Village Building Movement” prevailed across Japan (similar to the Beautiful Countryside Strategy proposed by China in 2017 to develop rural tourism). It is, in essence, designed to mitigate the decline of rural areas and the reduced productivity caused by urbanization and industrialization. Driven by the “Village Building Movement,” infrastructure in rural areas was further improved to the level of urban areas. Many villages in rural areas were so well-equipped that there was little difference between rural and urban areas. More importantly, Morihiko Hiramatsu was the first to propose the OVOP among the many rural revitalization practices. Later similar activities were launched in a wide range as a lot of regions began to cultivate local competitive products. In his words, the OVOP movement aims to promote the integrated development of a region. A specialty product can be identified as a competitive product in a village only when it promotes the revitalization of the local community, helps deal with the problem of declining population and attract young people to settle down. The aim of the program is to attract young people to settle down in rural areas and revitalize the local community. Literally, it is “One Village, One Product,” but in fact, the program is not limited to one competitive product in one village. That one village had two or three competitive products or one competitive product in two or three villages was common.The products were not limited to agricultural products, and also included tourism services or folk songs.The branded specialty products with local characteristics will serve as a bridge to promote the interaction between the urban and rural areas and that between tourists and rural areas and are the specific approaches to realizing rural revitalization in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture. The existing practice of “One Place One Brand” in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture is blazing a new trail for rural revitalization there. For example,Dashiban Community, located in the Hainan Subdistrict of Xichang City, has cultivated a batch of agritourism and leisure demonstration parks featuring farm sightseeing, fruit and vegetable picking, and agricultural science popularization. It is working to transform farms,orchards, tea gardens, flower bases, and grasslands at animal husbandry bases into scenic spots with distinctive characteristics. Relying on the apple, cherry, and black buckwheat planting, Yuexi County is advancing the building of agritourism demonstration areas and developing rural inns, specialty cuisine, cultural exhibitions, and souvenir processing with distinctive characteristics and attributes that are inherent to the mountainous landscape in the local community. By doing so, Yuexi intends to build a rural tourism industrial chain and a mountain tourism industrialization demonstration belt with the wide participation of local residents to realize poverty reduction.

However, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture’s “One Place One Brand” program is far from sufficient compared with Japan’s “One Village One Product Movement” program as it is limited to agricultural products and needs to be further expanded. In terms of content,songs and dances, costumes, and folk activities with ethnic characteristics have not been included in the program. In terms of regional coordination and development, the program is still limited to a certain county, district, or town, failing to realize the regional coordination and development. Culture, arts, and folk activities are missing from the program. Their absence makes the program fail to fully demonstrate the daily life and festive atmosphere of the locals as well as the significance of harmony between people and nature.

Establishing an Eco-Museum of Agricultural Communities in Valley and Mountain Areas

In order to make tourists and villagers aware of the positive interaction between agricultural society and the natural environment, lessons may be drawn from the Italian idea of “Rural Eco-Museum” to establish an eco-museum of the valley and mountain agricultural communities in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture.①The Italian “Rural Eco-Museum” is not a museum in a general sense. It has no walls and is in an open space. It allows cultural artifacts to stay where they were created and developed so that the local community always owns its cultural heritage. It is designed to enable local communities to learn about their history and culture. It is not a demarcated protected area, nor is it a park, but an area with mobile boundaries within a living community. Its exhibits are not limited to a single cultural object or an ancient castle, church, altar, or dairy farm hidden in mountainous areas, but include all in the surrounding. The eco-museum provides a broader historical and cultural context for various local cultural products and scenes. You may well say that a village community itself is a dynamic eco-museum.Such a “Rural Eco-Museum” does not mean the construction of a physical museum in a community; instead, it is a manifestation of integrating the natural environment of a community with its cultural environment. It is known as a museum without walls and doors.

It is feasible to build a rural museum of the valley and mountain agriculture in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture for it conforms to the ethnic culture and nature of the local villagers. A physical museum should also be built in the communities located in the river valley areas and mountainous areas, which need not be magnificent, but must be in harmony with the surrounding residential environment. Such a museum should provide a graphic account of the local natural environment, history, and culture with text and illustration.The exhibits should include the traditional tools used for production, articles of daily use,artworks, and handicrafts. This will help the local residents get more confident in their history and life and provide opportunities for tourists to learn about the history and lives of the local residents and have resonance with them. Wild animals and plants should also be introduced in the form of pictures and words to cultivate residents’ awareness of ecological protection. The museum should have children engaged by displaying their paintings and photography works depicting the local natural and cultural landscapes. The building of an eco-museum of agricultural communities in valleys and mountainous areas should attract the wide participation of the public. Such a museum should reveal the multiple relationships between the local community and the local history, nature, and the local culture.

The rich cultural history, culture and art, and folk activities have provided tourists with opportunities to deeply understand the rural communities in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and made local residents more proud of their history. They are the spiritual strength to support local residents. The Yi ethnic group in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture owns a time-honored history, rich customs, and impressive poetry performances.These are the most valuable assets for Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture to develop mountainous tourism. The Yi ethnic group cherishes their history, culture, and values.Tourists and local residents will have their heart nourished by reviewing the Yi ethnic group’s history and experiencing their festival activities.

Developing Engaging Tourism Projects

How to help tourists get a deep understanding of the history and culture of the Yi ethnic group? The answer lies in developing engaging and spectating tourism projects. The Torch Festival is a typical engaging project which makes tourists part of the traditional ceremony of the Yi ethnic group and gain better knowledge of their culture and customs. As for spectating projects, the historical stories of the Yi ethnic group can be rendered through various visual art forms, such as drama, song and dance, animation, and even shadow play. Shadow plays are particularly recommended to present the historical histories and social life of the Yi ethnic group as it is an effective way to promote mutual learning and integration between the cultures of the Han and Yi ethnic groups. Cultural experience during tourism can bring us rational thinking and help us make correct judgments.

Conclusions

The development of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture’s tourism results from the exploration of an open market. But its robust development is closely linked with government policy support and planning. It experienced a gradual development process and exactly conformed to the fundamental purpose of modern economic development; that is, the modern economy shall be a people-oriented economic mode that involves all and benefits all.Agritourism, which combines rural revitalization and tourism, is the best solution Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture finds to realizing the fundamental purpose of modern economic development. Rural revitalization is an issue that we cannot evade since it can make up for the deficiencies brought by industrialization.