Hangzhou tailors travel experience with intelligent systems

Tourists visiting Hangzhou can now enjoy a more enjoyable and convenient traveling experience when visiting the city by simply accessing a series of tourism apps on their phones.

Hangzhou, one of the most popular tourist destinations in China, is committed to enhancing the tourist experience for visitors through the wonders of modern digital technology. 

The mobile apps are supported by the "City Brain", an intelligent system devised by the local government for urban management, and are helping visitors plan their travel itineraries and provide catering suggestions according to their reservation preferences, duration of their stay, and consumption and dining habits in Hangzhou.

They have been well received by tourists, with two applets receiving more than 20,000 hits each day during the peak season. The "future scenic spot" released by the Xixi Wetland National Park allows tourists to enter the park just by scanning their faces.

During the Spring Festival holiday this year, the occupancy rate of Hangzhou hotels reached a record high, marking a year-on-year increase of 21.8 percent.

With the digitalized tourism services, the economy of the rural regions has also been stimulated. Tonglu county in Hangzhou launched China's first digital tour route last year, allowing travelers to customize their traveling routes in advance to avoid the inconvenience of congestion and queuing up when they arrive at the destination.

Jiande, a city under the jurisdiction of Hangzhou, also launched a tourism drive last winter, bringing about 5,000 people to Jiande in three months during the off-season, and generating more than two million yuan ($298,222) income. 

An official from Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio and Tourism said that more cooperation would be carried out between different departments of the city's government to share data and optimize tourism experiences regarding transportation, accommodation, parking, sightseeing and consumption.

A tourist makes a mobile payment in Yue Fei Temple, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]