Mount Huangshan at sunrise, in east China's Anhui Province on July 11, 2019. (Xinhua/Tang Yang)
By Xinhua writers Wang Haiyue, Dong Xue
HEFEI, July 26 (Xinhua) -- As his train passes through a canyon shrouded by clouds, Yin Zichun feels it well worthwhile to follow a video clip with millions of likes on the short video platform Douyin to visit Mount Huangshan.
"It seems we are entering a landscape painting, which is even more beautiful than what is presented in that Douyin video," said Yin, a tourist from Shanghai.
Known as a UNESCO world heritage site, Mount Huangshan, also known as the Yellow Mountain, in eastern China's Anhui province has been a traditional scenic spot renowned for magnificent natural beauty.
Mount Huangshan and villages at its foot, in east China's Anhui Province on July 11, 2019. (Xinhua/Tang Yang)
Thanks to new media, the mountain has become an internet celebrity and is attracting more visitors.
The train Yin took is the sight-seeing cable car of the Xihai Grand Canyon in Mount Huangshan. Launched in July 2013, this tourist facility went viral on the Internet in the summer of 2018 as a video clip posted by a tourist received more than 2.3 million likes.
Accompanied by classical music, the video, which lasts just about 10 seconds, shows the picturesque peaks and clouds during the train tour, drawing many people to experience it personally.
According to Wang Lin, a staff of the cable car in Xihai Grand Canyon, the daily reception in peak season was only about 3,000 in 2013, but now it has reached as high as 8,000.
To further improve the experience of tourists, the transport capacity of the cable car was increased from 700 to 900 per hour.
"For some people, Mount Huangshan has been regarded as just a huge and arduous mountain to climb. We are developing more attractive projects and using new promotion methods to attract visitors," said Wang, who also frequently posts video clips about the mountain on Douyin.
Since the train went viral on the Internet last summer, about 1.9 million tourists visited Huangshan in the second half of 2018, a 10.14 percent increase over the previous year, and the total number of tourists reached 3.38 million in 2018.
The new media also brings about more opportunities for hotels in the area. Huangshan Yupinglou Hotel, a four-star hotel established in 1955, is one that successfully seized the opportunity with its unique terrace.
The terrace, at an altitude of 1,716 meters, was open to the public in April this year after reconstruction. As it is located between the Tiandu and Lotus peaks, the two most famous peaks of Mount Huangshan, it is an ideal venue to view the scenery, giving it much popularity on Douyin.
Yang Yang, a 45-year-old tourist from southwest China's Sichuan Province, is among those who are drawn to the hotel by the video clips about the terrace.
On this secluded terrace, Yang ordered a cup of tea and immersed himself in the rolling sea of cloud and towering mountains for half a day. "It is so quiet here that you can fully enjoy the fresh air and relax," he said.
The hotel also offers various cultural activities such as tea ceremonies and yoga and Taichi lessons on the terrace.
According to Pan Meili, manager of this hotel, the turnover in the first half of 2019 hit 170,000 yuan (about 24,740 U. S. dollars), up 41.7 percent year on year.
"We should innovate both services and marketing to follow the change of times," Pan said.
Besides the popular terrace, hotels on this mountain have also introduced various new tourism projects, such as tents for stargazing, music events and an outdoor cinema, in an effort to embrace tourists from all over the world.
According to Hong Jiangyu, a staff of the Huangshan Tourism Development Co., Ltd., the company held an activity with Douyin in August 2018 to invite the public and Internet celebrities to shoot video clips about Mount Huangshan. Over 10 million video clips were produced, garnering over 10 million likes and over 100 million views.
This year, the company, in cooperation with the video platform, has shot 18 short videos to present the scenery and culture of Mount Huangshan.
