Technological innovation has become a key driver in addressing challenges in cultural tourism and boosting consumer engagement. In September, Suqian City released its "Action Plan for Deepening Smart City Development and Advancing Comprehensive Urban Digital Transformation (2025–2027)," which explicitly promotes the integration of "culture + tourism + technology." The plan encourages scenic spots and public cultural venues to adopt virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) technologies to create immersive smart tourism experiences, enrich digital cultural tourism products, and advance intelligent upgrades in tourist attractions. By 2027, Suqian aims to achieve 100% smart transformation coverage for national 4A-level and above scenic spots, as well as provincial-level and above tourism resorts, with VR immersive experiences fully implemented in all national 5A-level scenic areas.
Riding the wave of digitalization, Suqian’s cultural tourism industry is undergoing a revitalization. This year, the city has intensified efforts in smart tourism projects, developing digital travel experiences to enhance management and service quality, thereby stimulating consumption and improving visitor satisfaction.
Sihong County has emerged as a standout in this "digital cultural tourism transformation." At the "Only Sizhou" VR Pavilion in the Hongze Lake Wetland Scenic Area, young visitors like Guan Allen don VR headsets, immersing themselves in the historical VR film *The Flooding of Sizhou City*. "It feels like traveling back to ancient Sizhou," Guan remarked. "The changing scenes let me witness historical events and wetland evolution while appreciating nature’s beauty and the depth of Chinese culture."
This hands-on "tech-driven fun" reflects Sihong’s strategy to elevate its "Wetland Capital · Poetic Sihong" brand through digitalization and smart scenarios. The county has established a "Smart Cultural Tourism" big data platform, covering nearly 30 scenic spots and rural tourism sites with real-time visitor signal detection. This enables crowd analysis, visitor profiling, and behavior tracking, providing a data foundation for operational management and long-term planning. Additionally, the "Explore Sihong" WeChat mini-program collaborates with telecom operators to deliver travel tips and public service updates, offering a seamless "all-in-one" cultural tourism experience. Over a million such messages have been sent this year.
Beyond natural landscapes, Suqian’s historical heritage is also being preserved and shared digitally. Through the Suqian Museum’s WeChat platform, users can explore 138 high-precision 3D-scanned artifacts, delving into the city’s Chu-Han culture, wine traditions, and Grand Canal history with a simple tap.
Enhancing visitor convenience remains central to Suqian’s digital push. The city has prioritized digital RMB payment integration across all fee-based A-level scenic spots and affiliated businesses, completing upgrades in 46 consumption scenarios, including ticketing, souvenir shops, and transport. Promotions like "first digital RMB payment discounts" and "lucky draws" have driven over 2,000 transactions.
"By upgrading facilities, enriching content, and accelerating digitalization, we aim to elevate Suqian’s cultural appeal and public service impact," stated an official from the Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau.