East China’s Jiangsu province recorded 235 million leisure agriculture tourists from January to July, an increase of 40% year-on-year, latest statistics show, highlighting the increasing charm of today’s rural areas.
The Jiangbei New Area in Nanjing recently launched the seventh Pancheng grape picking season. In order to meet the needs of citizens and tourists, this year's Pancheng Grape Festival will continue to be held in the evening. The organizers have organized a series of online and offline themed activities such as grape exhibitions, cultural performances, and internet hot dishes to allow tourists to enjoy the night of rural tourism.
The rich array of activities has attracted tourists and also boosted the development of the local agriculture and cultural tourism industry.
“We participate in almost every grape festival, and business is getting better and better. With the increasing number of customers, we have expanded our planting area from over 200 mu to nearly 500 mu”, Zhang Cuixia, Head of a Family Farm in Pancheng Sub-district, Jiangbei New Area, Nanjing, said.
“The Grape Festival has prompted many growers to promote high-quality grape cultivation, promoting a significant spillover effect of grapes. In recent years, approximately 200 thousand tourists have visited Pancheng during each grape festival, stimulating grape sales and promoting the development of a series of industries such as catering and accommodation, which has in turn increased farmers' income”, Luo Honghe, Deputy Director of the Party Working Committee Office of Pancheng Sub-district, Jiangbei New Area, Nanjing, said.
Rural tourism in Jiangsu is popular all year round due to its idyllic scenery, leisure picking, festival experience, and health preservation tours.
In the summer vacation, many parents and children were attracted to experience traditional agricultural production through study tours.
Accompanied by teachers and parents, elementary school students from Danyang and Jintan visited beautiful rural areas to experience agricultural activities and the extraordinary charm of a land of fish and rice in the new era.
“I used to only see crabs at the dining table before, but this time I learned a lot about crabs. I know that crabs undergo more than twenty times of shedding their shells in their lifetime, which is very interesting”, Li Zhixuan, Student from Jintan District, Changzhou City, said.
Since the beginning of this year, Jiangsu has seized the golden season of spring tourism and organized a series of tourism promotion activities to fully promote the recovery of leisure agriculture.
Stimulated by the beautiful rural scenery, delicious food, and lively festivals, Jiangsu recorded 235 million leisure agricultural tourists and a comprehensive income of 65.8 billion yuan from January to July, with year-on-year growth of 44.3% and 32.1%, respectively.
