The notion that a popular cdrama drives tourism to a corresponding Chinese city has become commonplace in the past two years. Whether it is the popularity brought by “The Knockout” to Jiangmen, “Meet Yourself” to Dali, or “Blossoms Shanghai” to Shanghai, once a drama breaks free from its usual boundaries, a wave of enthusiastic followers is bound to emerge.
In the realm of film and television catalyzing cultural tourism, there are typically three approaches. The most direct approach is through filming location sightseeing tours. The three aforementioned dramas fall into this category. According to the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture Cultural and Tourism Bureau, following the success of “Meet Yourself,” Dali received a total of 4.2393 million visitors during the 2023 Spring Festival holiday, representing a 219% year-on-year increase. However, such following the trend phenomena require a strong sense of authenticity; once the illusion created by the series shatters, the audience may easily lose interest.
The second approach involves film and television base tours. This type needs no elaborate explanation, with places like Hengdian World Studios, Xiangshan Film and Television Town, and the recent output from Oriental Movie Metropolis drawing substantial profits from holiday tourism. The third approach revolves around immersive film and television historical tours. To illustrate, “The Longest Day in Chang'an” propelled Xi'an's already popular status to new heights, with flight ticket searches to Xi'an peaking in early July 2019 with a growth rate exceeding 200% year-on-year. However, where was “The Longest Day in Chang'an” filmed? It was in Tang City, Xiangshan. Similarly, during the airing of the drama “Luoyang,” Luoyang became the hottest tourist city at that time. Yet, the filming location of “Luoyang” was in Hengdian.
Why did a drama filmed in Ningbo Xiangshan spark interest in Xi'an? Why did everyone rush to Luoyang when scenes were filmed in Hengdian? The success of the film and television cultural tourism industry in Xi'an and Luoyang precisely satisfies the most crucial attribute of today's film and television industry: immersion. The curiosity and desire for exploration fostered by online videos are ultimately fulfilled through social interactions and immersive experiences offline.
The Arduous Luoyang: A Dream of Returning to the Ancient Capital
Although both ancient capitals of olden days, Luoyang's online notoriety pales in comparison to Xi'an. The last time it made waves was related to the drama “Chang An”. In August last year, the Sui and Tang History Society of Luoyang published a statement pointing out discrepancies between certain plotlines in “Chang An” and real historical events, as well as inaccuracies in the portrayal of some characters, prompting them to issue a legal letter to the production team.
In fact, the competitors between Luoyang and Xi'an has been ongoing for many years. However, most of the time, Luoyang remains in the shadows. Looking at the statistics, in 2019, Xi'an's total tourism revenue reached 314.605 billion yuan, accounting for 33.47% of the total GDP, while Luoyang's GDP just surpassed 500 billion yuan in the same year. In the age of the internet, attention equates to economic gains. As ancient capitals, Xi'an and Luoyang both feel the pressure to catch up.
Nevertheless, upon closer examination of the data, Luoyang has been steadily catching up. During the 8-day Spring Festival holiday this year, Luoyang's total tourism revenue reached 8.293 billion yuan, marking a 345.36% increase compared to the same period in 2019 and a 156.88% increase compared to 2023. Luoyang is more than just the drama of “Luoyang”. Leveraging film and television to boost cultural tourism, Luoyang has long been exploring this avenue.
During the release of “Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings” in 2018, Luoyang launched the “Watch the Film, Tour the Divine Capital Luoyang” activity, offering half-price admission to certain scenic spots with a movie ticket. Over the past six years, Luoyang's cultural tourism industry has become more mature.
Today, Luoyang's cultural tourism treasures consist of peonies, Hanfu, and immersive murder mystery games. These elements can be intricately linked with film and television content. Let's start with peonies. Last October, during the broadcast of “Scent of Time”, Youku, Huanyu Ent. Official, and Luoyang's Intangible Cultural Heritage Peony Fragrance jointly hosted the “Luoyang Fragrance Journey” event. The main actors of the series, Zhou Ye and Wang Xingyue, went to Luoyang to learn about incense rituals, incense making, the art of incense, and the craft of appreciating incense.
The historical drama “Flourished Peony”, starring Yang Zi and Li Xian, is intricately linked to peonies. The filming location for this series is set in Heze, Shandong Province. Interestingly, the competition between Heze and Luoyang over peonies has been ongoing for many years.
Hanfu represents Luoyang's most successful short video calling card. In recent years, Luoyang has hosted consecutive events such as the “Dreaming of the Sui and Tang Dynasties in Luoyi” Hanfu Cultural Festival, forming a complete industry chain of “Hanfu + styling + shooting + photography”. In the first half of 2023, Luoyang was consecutively rated as the most popular Hanfu check-in location for six months.
The Luoyi Ancient City, which made its debut on programs like “TDouble Seventh Festival Wonderful Tour”, “Mid-Autumn Festival Wonderful Tour”, and “Lantern Festival Wonderful Night” on Henan TV, is a well-deserved internet celebrity landmark in Luoyang. The ancient city has created 12 popular check-in spots and 3 large interactive scenes.
Last year, the official of the ancient city launched the “Immersive Imperial Examination Murder Mystery + Appointment Photography + Hanfu Makeup” experience for only 119 yuan for the whole process, a price that is considered conscientious compared to other cities that charge hundreds or even thousands of yuan.
The immersive murder mystery games represent the most successful integration of film, television, and cultural tourism in Luoyang. The “Implementation Plan for Accelerating the Development of the Entertainment Industry in Luoyang” proposes to make Luoyang the capital of the Chinese murder mystery games by 2025. In April last year, Luoyang launched the city-wide immersive murder mystery event “Fantasy Chronicles of the Divine Capital”, connecting over 40 immersive murder mysteries throughout the city. As an emerging niche hobby, the murder mystery games made their debut on a grand stage in China for the first time.
The collaboration between iQIYI and Luoyang project is gradually taking shape. Online works such as “Luoyang”, “The Divine Capital Luoyang”, and “Glory Is Back! Luo Yang” continue to generate traffic, which is then monetized offline through Luoyang's promotional matrix. In August last year, iQIYI's VR immersive theater for “Luoyang” landed in Shanghai, and in the same month, it landed in Luoyang. The “Reality + VR” experience, lasting 80 minutes, attracted over 30,000 people to visit.
For Luoyang, the choice of murder mystery games is not difficult to comprehend. From the barbecue craze in Zibo to the tourism boom in Harbin, in the era of internet celebrities, it is crucial to leave a lasting impression. However, what most cities lack is a stroke of luck.
The Calm Xi'an
Xi'an's road to fame also began in 2018. That year, Xi'an launched a year-long urban branding campaign, bringing together this ancient city of a thousand years with the explosive popularity of short videos, creating a perfect match. The breakout success of “The Longest Day in Chang'an” quickly brought fame to the streets and alleys of Xi'an. According to a travel guide published in 2019, the popularity of tourism in Xi'an increased by 22% a week after the series aired.
It was no surprise that in 2018, Xi'an's cultural tourism industry aimed to make a significant impact through film and television. In April 2018, the global premiere of “Peace in Palace, Peace in Chang'An” was held at the South Gate of the Xi'an city wall, attracting much attention online with the creators of the series present. Unfortunately, the series faced setbacks and did not meet the audience as expected.
In terms of immersive experiences, Xi'an offers unique attractions. Following the success of “The Longest Day in Chang'an,” Xi'an took the opportunity to create the first immersive Tang-style neighborhood – the Chang'an Twelve Hours themed district, which includes a variety of formats such as Chang'an street food, themed cultural and creative products, special performances, immersive games, and experiential scenes. Despite similarities with Luoyang, the well-received “The Longest Day in Chang'an” has become a prominent attraction.
While Xi'an was still relatively inexperienced in the realm of film and television tourism during the airing of “The Longest Day in Chang'an,” it took a step ahead with “Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty.” In May last year, the Xi'an Municipal Committee and iQiyi reached a strategic cooperation agreement to create a new urban cultural IP ecosystem. Their first joint project, the “Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty” VR immersive theater, officially opened in January this year. The combination of VR and physical scenes has become a new trend in film and television tourism.
The success of the movie “Chang'an” last year once again made Xi'an a popular tourist destination. In July 2023, hotel and homestay bookings in Xi'an increased by 339% compared to the previous year, and ticket sales increased by over 28 times.
The global premiere of animation “Chang'an” was held in the main venue of the Tang Dynasty Everlasting Theme Park in Xi'an. The event featured performances by the Tang Dynasty band, creating an immersive atmosphere. Another premiere held in Xi'an was for the costume suspense drama “Judge Dee's Mystery,” which had just concluded, with the main venue at the site of the Daming Palace.
Compared to Luoyang, Xi'an remains more composed. The Qin and Han dynasties were there, the Tang Dynasty was there, and Chang'an is still there. With the upcoming releases of “Han Dynasty Epic” and “The Epic of Tang Dynasty,” the tourism in Xi'an is bound to soar even higher.