In recent years, Tai'an in Shandong province has been ramping up efforts to meet growing consumer demand and promote the high-quality development of the cultural and tourism industry.

The city is enhancing its tourism products, services and facilities to create new scenes, new types of businesses and new culture elements, driving the comprehensive growth of food, accommodation, transportation, travel, shopping and entertainment.

An immersive, interactive facility at Hongmenli Block in Tai'an. [Photo by Chen Yang/WeChat account: taianfabu]

During this year's May Day holiday, the Hongmenli Block near the Hongmen Gate visitor center, operated by Taishan Cultural Tourism Group, created a vibrant cultural spot for leisure, entertainment, dining, and trendy activities; the Taste of Tai'an specialty food street gathered local delicacies such as special fried chicken and pancakes; and the Mount Tai night market was bustling with a variety of goods, unique traditional crafts and a diverse array of activities.

According to Ctrip data, 84 percent of visitors to Tai'an in the first five months of this year were born in the 1980s. To appeal to young people, Tai'an increased online promotion, inviting 12 teams of online influencers to boost the beauty of Tai'an from multiple angles.

The city also plans to hold various cultural and tourism activities. For example, before the May Day holiday, the Tai'an culture and tourism bureau released an online and offline accommodation guide map, encompassing 16 high-end hotels, 30 star-rated homestays and 14 campsites. They also conducted media tours and photography contests to meet the personalized needs of citizens and tourists.

Meanwhile, Tai'an participated in a number of overseas events to promote its cultural and tourism products. From January to May, the number of overnight foreign tourists in Tai'an soared by 330.8 percent year-on-year.

To optimize the city's overall tourism transportation layout, Tai'an is developing a network centered on high-speed railways and trunk highways, as well as a "fast-in and slow-travel" comprehensive transportation scheme based on multiple tourism corridors.

In June last year, the main line of the 57.4-kilometer S103 Dongyue tourist highway was completed and opened to traffic. The Tai'an section connects to Jinan in the north and extends south to Culai Mountain, linking spots such as the Great Wall of Qi, Mount Tai, Dawen River National Wetland Park, and Culai Mountain National Forest Park.