As China's visa-free policies continue to deliver dividends, the country's inbound tourism market is warming up this spring, with travelers venturing beyond first-tier cities to second- and third-tier destinations and shifting from traditional sightseeing to immersive cultural experiences. 随着中国免签政策的红利持续释放，今年春季，中国入境旅游市场持续升温。游客们不再局限于一线城市，而是深入二三线目的地，并从传统的观光游览转向沉浸式的文化体验。 Instead of merely visiting widely popular sites like the Terracotta Warriors or climbing the Great Wall, foreign visitors are stepping into intangible cultural heritage workshops, donning traditional hanfu, learning to make dumplings and even firing porcelain. From "seeing China" to "being Chinese for a day", cultural experiences are emerging as a new engine for inbound tourism. 外国游客不再只是参观兵马俑等热门景点或攀登长城，而是走进非物质文化遗产工坊，穿上传统汉服，学习包饺子，甚至亲手烧制瓷器。从"看中国"到"做一天中国人"，文化体验正成为入境旅游的新引擎。 A short video recently went viral on social media, showing Zhang Shupeng, known as Asia's first wingsuit pilot, leaping from Yuhu Peak at Zhangjiajie's Tianmen Mountain and flying at more than 200 kilometers per hour through Tianmen Mountain Square in Hunan province. 近日，一段短视频在社交媒体上迅速走红。视频中，被称为"亚洲翼装飞行第一人"的张树鹏从张家界天门山的玉壶峰一跃而下，以每小时超过200公里的速度飞越湖南天门洞广场。 The video, posted by a foreign blogger on Instagram, garnered more than 100 million views and nearly 5 million likes within days, with comments in multiple languages expressing awe. 该视频由一位外国博主发布在Instagram上，短短几天内浏览量就突破1亿，获得近500万点赞，评论区用多种语言表达惊叹之情。 Ding Yunjuan, deputy manager of the marketing department at Tianmen Mountain Scenic Area, said that the site attracts extreme sports enthusiasts while offering foreign visitors the chance to watch world-class events such as the annual World Wingsuit League Championship, as well as parkour contests and bicycle speed races down the mountain stairs. 天门山景区市场营销部副经理丁云娟表示，该景区在吸引极限运动爱好者的同时，也为外国游客提供了观看世界级赛事的机会，例如一年一度的世界翼装飞行联盟锦标赛，以及跑酷比赛和山地自行车速降赛。 The scenic area has also enriched its cultural tourism offerings. Its mountain-gorge theater stages Tianmen Fox Fairy, the world's first live musical performance set in a high-mountain canyon. The show is based on the Xiangxi folk tale The Legend of Woodcutter Liu Hai and centers on themes of oriental love aesthetics. 景区还丰富了其文化旅游产品。其高山峡谷大剧场演出《天门狐仙·新刘海砍樵》，这是世界上首台以高山峡谷为天然舞台的大型山水实景音乐剧。该剧根据湘西民间传说《刘海砍樵》改编，以东方爱情美学为主题。 Between 2024 and 2025, overseas tourists accounted for 60 to 70 percent of the show's audience. In 2025, it received 250,000 overseas visitors, a 45 percent year-on-year increase, covering more than 120 countries and regions. During the first performances of 2026, overseas visitors made up 70 percent of the audience, Ding said. 2024年至2025年间，境外游客占该剧观众的60%至70%。2025年，该剧接待境外游客25万人次，同比增长45%，覆盖超过120个国家和地区。丁云娟说，2026年首轮演出中，境外观众占比达70%。 The scenic area welcomed 162,100 overseas visitors in the first quarter of 2026, a 26 percent year-on-year increase. The top four source markets were South Korea, China's Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia, she added. 她补充说，2026年第一季度，天门山景区共接待境外游客16.21万人次，同比增长26%。排名前四的客源市场是韩国、中国台湾、印度尼西亚和马来西亚。 The park has strengthened English training for its personnel, provided translation devices for front-line employees and introduced guided tours in Chinese, English and Korean. 景区加强了对员工的英语培训，为一线的员工配备了翻译设备，并推出了中文、英文和韩文的导游服务。 In Lijiang, Yunnan province, during the Sanduo Festival — a traditional celebration of the Naxi ethnic group honoring the guardian deity Sanduo — two tourists from New York and Los Angeles, Iren Helperin and Soheila Halimi, said they were drawn to the city's ancient town and ethnic culture and praised its safe and friendly travel environment. 在云南省丽江市，正值纳西族传统节日"三多节"（纪念保护神三多）期间，来自纽约和洛杉矶的两位游客艾琳·赫尔珀林和索海拉·哈利米表示，她们被丽江古城和民族文化所吸引，并称赞这里安全友好的旅游环境。 "We felt very safe here. As a tourist, safety is very important because you're not familiar with the city or the culture," Helperin said. "In Europe, you have to wrap your phone with a string so if somebody tries to grab it, you can pull it back. Here you don't have to worry. I can carry my phone and take pictures." 赫尔珀林说："我们在这里感到非常安全。对游客来说，安全非常重要，因为你既不熟悉这座城市，也不了解这里的文化。在欧洲，你不得不用绳子拴住手机，以防有人试图抢走时你能拉回来。在这里你不用担心。我可以拿着手机随意拍照。" A German couple, Evgeni Knispel and Denise Nagel, who were also visiting Lijiang, said they discovered the city while searching online for trips to China. They praised its cleanliness, pleasant weather and well-preserved old town. 同样在丽江旅游的一对德国夫妇叶夫根尼·尼斯佩尔和丹尼斯·纳格尔说，他们在网上搜索中国旅行时发现了丽江。他们称赞丽江干净整洁、天气宜人，古城保存完好。 "It's unbelievably clean everywhere," Nagel said. Knispel added that while Lijiang is touristy, it is less crowded than destinations in Thailand, and he would recommend it to friends and family. 纳格尔说："到处都干净得令人难以置信。"尼斯佩尔补充说，虽然丽江旅游味较浓，但比泰国的旅游目的地人少，他会向亲朋好友推荐这里。 Lyu Ning, dean of the School of Tourism Sciences at Beijing International Studies University, said that smaller cities preserve more authentic natural scenery and folk customs, meeting foreign tourists' demand for uniqueness and authenticity. 北京第二外国语学院旅游科学学院院长吕宁表示，小城市保留了更真实的自然风光和民俗风情，满足了外国游客对独特性和真实性的需求。 Meanwhile, China's transport and service infrastructure has expanded into lower-tier cities. High-speed rail now reaches third — and fourth-tier cities, including Wuyishan in Fujian province and Huangshan in Anhui province. Regional air networks have improved, while rural tourism roads and scenic area shuttle services have helped solve the "last mile" problem, she said. 与此同时，中国的交通和服务基础设施已扩展到低线城市。高铁网络现已覆盖包括福建武夷山和安徽黄山在内的三四线城市。区域航空网络得到改善，乡村旅游公路和景区接驳服务也有助于解决"最后一公里"问题。 "Overseas communication has shifted from official promotion to authentic experience sharing on social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Foreign visitors' real-life posts are more influential and relatable than traditional advertising," Lyu said. 吕宁说："海外传播已经从官方推广转向TikTok、Instagram和YouTube等社交媒体平台上的真实体验分享。外国游客发布的真实帖子比传统广告更具影响力和亲和力。" On the shift from "seeing China" to "being Chinese for a day", Lyu said it reflects a move from curiosity-driven sightseeing to deeper cultural empathy. 对于从"看中国"到"做一天中国人"的转变，吕宁认为，这反映了从好奇驱动的观光旅游向更深层次文化共情的转变。 "Young overseas tourists, especially Generation Z, no longer want to just check off landmarks; they want to participate in Chinese daily life," she said. 她说："年轻的海外游客，尤其是Z世代，不再只想打卡地标，他们希望参与中国人的日常生活。" "This demand change is essentially a shift from knowing China to understanding China," Lyu said. Immersive experiences turn Chinese culture from abstract symbols into tangible, shareable moments, creating a word-of-mouth chain from experience to emotional resonance and then sharing. "这种需求变化本质上是'知中国'向'懂中国'的转变。"吕宁说，沉浸式体验将中国文化从抽象符号转化为可触摸、可分享的瞬间，形成从体验到情感共鸣再到分享的口碑传播链条。 Experiential products are becoming the core competitiveness of the inbound tourism market, moving away from resource-dependent models to creativity-driven offerings. They not only enrich the product mix but also increase added value and repeat visits, as tourists form emotional connections and return for specific experiences, she added. 她补充说，体验型产品正成为入境旅游市场的核心竞争力，从资源依赖型模式转向创意驱动型产品。它们不仅丰富了产品组合，还提高了附加值和重游率，因为游客建立了情感联系，并会为了特定体验而再次到访。 dividend /ˈdɪvɪdend/红利；收益 Terracotta Warriors /
