Shandong: Aesthetic Appeal Boosts Popularity as Autumn Leaves Drive the “Maple Economy”

Autumn in Shandong: Unlocking Seasonal Beauty and Boosting “Maple Leaf Economy”

It is currently late autumn, and many places in Shandong have unlocked new seasonal landscapes. Maple trees, smoke trees and other trees are quietly “changing outfits”, dyeing the mountains and ranges resplendently colorful. The best time for enjoying red leaves has arrived, attracting numerous tourists to come and admire, and also giving rise to the rise of the “maple leaf economy”.,

1，”Maple Leaf Scenic Areas” Usher in Tourist Peak Season

On October 23, the day of Frost’s Descent. The “Autumn in One Glimpse” Qi-Lu Evening News & Qilu Yidian event, the maple leaf valley’s 24th Maple Leaf Festival Yidianhao Influencer Trip, jointly organized by Qi-Lu Evening News and Red Leaf Valley Eco-Cultural Tourism Area, was successfully held. More than 20 Yidianhao influencers happily embarked on this autumn appointment, appreciating the scenery in front of them with poetic sentiment, and the trip was fruitful.

According to Chen Qingfeng, general manager of Red Leaf Valley Eco-Cultural Tourism Area, Red Leaf Valley has entered the maple leaf festival time since the “National Day” holiday. This year is the 24th. From mid-October to mid-November, about a month is the “tourist peak season” when tourists are most concentrated in Red Leaf Valley scenic area throughout the year, and the tourist volume has been at a peak. On Wednesday the 23rd, the scenic area received about 6,000 visitors. On weekends, it reaches 10,000 to 20,000 people.

Red Leaf Valley

Not only Red Leaf Valley, but the thousand-acre red maple forest in the West Coast New Area of Qingdao has also entered the best viewing season, attracting a continuous stream of tourists and becoming an “internet-famous” check-in place. In addition to the rustling red leaves, the scenic area also launches the Red Maple Culture Festival, presenting a “gift package” of cultural activities such as art performances, traditional operas, Hanfu experience, and intangible cultural heritage exhibitions, allowing tourists to immerse themselves in the charm of traditional culture while enjoying autumn.

In Weifang, Shimenfang Scenic Area in Linqu also welcomes mountains covered with red leaves. Li Wei, deputy general manager of Shandong Cultural Tourism Scenic Area Group and chairman of Shandong Linqu Hongshaozi Tourism Development Co., Ltd., said that the landscape of Linqu is magnificent. The ten thousand mu of smoke trees in Shimenfang are known as the “crown of red leaves in Qilu” and are worth seeing. The scenic area launches the red leaf sightseeing month. Not only does it launch travel photography products, but it also launches a stamp-collecting activity for secondary consumption projects. After playing all the secondary consumption projects, you can get the privilege of free admission to the red leaf festival in 2025, attracting many tourists to check in.

2，”Maple Leaf +” Promotes Cultural and Tourism Consumption in Scenic Areas

In Zibo, Tanxi Mountain located at the intersection of Taiyi and Yishan mountain ranges has also quietly changed colors. Cui Xincheng, marketing director of Tanxi Mountain, told reporters that the tree species mainly composed of smoke trees and red maples in the scenic area form a magnificent wave of red leaves. Many “surprising turns” paths have become excellent viewing angles for enjoying autumn in Tanxi Mountain. The scenic area proposes the concept of “maple leaf +”, realizing the effective combination of red leaves and other business forms in the scenic area, forming various ways of enjoying red leaves such as “enjoying red leaves on the glass bridge”, “enjoying red leaves while drifting in the canyon”, “enjoying red leaves in luxury residences”, and “enjoying red leaves on deep valley cliffs”. “This integration not only provides tourists with a new concept of enjoying autumn and enhances the experience of enjoying autumn, but also promotes cultural and tourism consumption to a certain extent.” Cui Xincheng said.

At the same time, Hongyeshiyan Tourism Area in Zibo, Shandong Cultural Tourism has played many tricks with “maple leaves”. Since mid-October, Hongyeshiyan, which is home to the largest native red leaf forest in northern Jiangsu and Zhejiang, has entered the best time for enjoying red leaves. From Monday to Friday during non-holiday periods, it receives an average of 5,000 visitors per day. During weekends and holidays, it receives more than 10,000 visitors per day. Li Peng, deputy general manager of the Collaborative Innovation Center of Shandong Cultural Tourism Group Co., Ltd. and general manager of Shandong Hongyeshiyan Tourism Development Co., Ltd., told reporters that as of now, the overall revenue of the scenic area is still showing a growth trend compared to 2023.

Hongyeshiyan Tourism Area

With the theme of “Hongyeshiyan, Red for You” and the fourth Hongyeshiyan Red Leaf Season “Red Leaves Are Thick at the Foot of the Great Wall in 2024”, Hongyeshiyan launches a series of wonderful activities such as “National Style Fashion Show”, “Hundred-Car Self-Driving Tour to Hongyeshiyan”, “Zibo Self-Driving Association and Radio Station’s Red Leaf Festival Self-Driving Season”, “Hundred Tour Groups Battle in Red Leaf Season”, and “High-End Car Self-Driving to Enjoy Red Leaves”. It firmly grasps young customer groups and self-driving customer groups and opens up the tourism market in Shandong and even the whole country. With the support of red leaf beauty and colorful activities, the scenic area is extremely popular. On October 26, the number of tourists in the scenic area reached more than 20,000, achieving the double peaks of “beauty” and “popularity”!

3，Red Leaf Linkage Gives Birth to a New Integration Model,

In addition, Hongyeshiyan also explores a new integration model of “hotel + scenic area”. Shandong Cultural Tourism · Hongyeshiyan Tourism Area and Shandong Cultural Tourism Hotel Group jointly launch two-way discounts, allowing tourists to enjoy “food, accommodation and travel” with one click, fully igniting the colorful autumn. Li Peng told reporters that with the arrival of the red leaf season, Hongyeshiyan welcomes the influx of customer groups such as parent-child outings, couple outings, and customized team building. The accommodation business forms in the scenic area are very popular. The occupancy rate is about 75% from Monday to Friday, and reaches more than 90% on weekends and holidays. At the same time, it indirectly drives the continuous prosperity and development of surrounding accommodation, catering and other industries.

It is worth mentioning that Hongyeshiyan scenic area also has a dream linkage with Lingyan Temple scenic area in Jinan, and launches a ticket-free activity of “Yellow and Red Appointment, Full of Sincerity”. Tourists can enjoy both red leaves and ginkgo with one ticket.

Lingyan Temple

Hongyeshiyan Tourism Area

4，Seize Opportunities to Revitalize the “Seasonal Economy”

Not only scenic areas, but also cultural and tourism departments in various places have seized the opportunity and released autumn viewing maps for “red leaves”, planning selected routes such as cycling to enjoy autumn, hiking to enjoy autumn, and climbing to enjoy autumn, attracting many citizens and tourists to come and injecting strong impetus into the autumn cultural and tourism market.,

The Jinan Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism has launched the “This Stop, Jinan!” “2024 Jinan Red Leaf Viewing Map”, recommending nearly 20 scenic spot check-in points to citizens and tourists. In order to meet people’s pursuit of a beautiful environment and yearning for natural ecology, the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism has launched the “Eco-Shandong Green Leisure” 2024 Shandong Ecotourism Experience Season, designing five scenes with the most “autumnal sense of ceremony”, and creating 10 themed routes to let tourists experience the autumn beauty of ecological Shandong.

Xu Qingyuan, vice chairman of the Shandong Provincial Network Writers Association and vice chairman of the Jinan Writers Association, after visiting Red Leaf Valley, said that currently in Jinan, “enjoying red leaves in autumn” has become a new folk custom among local residents. Like “appreciating chrysanthemums in Baotu Spring”, it has become a spontaneous action of citizens in a certain period. He suggested packaging and promoting Jinan’s “enjoying red leaves in autumn” and making this tourism business card shine brightly across the country.

Many industry experts said in interviews that enjoying autumn has become a fashion this year. Various places have actively planned and launched a series of activities with distinctive features, stimulating the cultural and tourism market and consumption. In particular, the deep integration of culture and tourism has met the diversified needs of tourists and brought rich cultural and tourism experiences to people. Next, various places should seize the opportunity of the seasonal economy, innovate tourism products, continuously optimize services, and revitalize the vitality of the seasonal economy.

Shandong: Aesthetic Appeal Boosts Popularity as Autumn Leaves Drive the “Maple Economy”

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