Success only favors those who boldly forge ahead.

As the signature project to build Zhejiang into a “Big Garden”, the development of the Poetry Road Culture Belt is not only an important endeavor to connect Zhejiang’s heritage with its future; it has also become a “golden name card” in the building of “Cultural Zhejiang”.

Ever since Zhejiang released the Big Garden Construction Action Plan in 2018, and began to implement the Development Plan to Build the Poetry Road Culture Belt in 2019, myriad accomplishments have been made.

In April 2020, Tiantai Mountain Waterfall,known as “the Highest Waterfall in China”, officially started operation, one of Tiantai county’s marquee projects in its campaign to establish itself as a “famous and beautiful county”, and  one of the provincial key construction projects and the provincial major industry demonstration projects. In recent years, Tiantai county has consistently followed the concept of “development through cultural tourism”, striving to build itself into an international leisure resort and a retreat for the residents of the Yangtze River Delta. As the “Destination of the Tang Poetry Road in East Zhejiang”, Tiantai has spared no effort in tapping into local cultural resources of Tang poetry, and transforming them into forms that are “concrete, relatable and industrializable”, to which the restoration of the Tiantai Mountain Waterfall bears testament.

During the same period, Gushan Park,located in Tianmu Mountain Scenic Area in Xinchang, opened to public, with a planned land area of about 628 mu （about 42 hectares） and a series of functional sections such as the culture and leisure section, the ecological mountain forest section, Tianmu landscape section,  the fitness section. A major theme park along the Tang Poetry Road, Gushan Park is more a city park complex,integrating Tang poetry cultural heritage, rural culture and customs, green and public open space and cultural tourism attractions, and it is a much welcome addition to local residents and tourists.

In Shaoxing’s Shangyu district and Shengzhou city, the comprehensive improvement of the Cao’e River,  part of the “Picturesque Shanxi River Project” has been completed. With a total length of 18.7 kilometers and encompassing an area of 131.84 hectares along the Cao’e River, the project starts from Tujiabu in the south and ends at Xiashitou in the north, underscored by the rich natural and cultural resources of the Shanxi River, in particular the Tang poetry cultural heritage.

In Lishui city, the Jinyun Xiandu Scenic Area has successfully become a national 5A-level scenic spot,  which is the 18th in Zhejiang province and the first in Lishui,and a considerable contribution to the building of the Oujiang River Landscape Poetry Road.

In Jinhua city, the water transportation, i.e. the “water poetry road”, from Lanxi city (in Jinhua) to Jiande city (in Hangzhou), resumed traffic, emerging as the “pearl” of the Qiantang River Poetry Road. Sitting in the middle reaches of the Qiantang river, Lanxi is undoubtedly a crucial point along the Qiantang River Poetry Road,and through integrating cultural “treasures” with charming scenery, the city is painting a modern-day Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains.

But Zhejiang is not sitting on these achievements. More projects are in store.

“Of landscape in the Southeast, Yue ［modern-day Shaoxing］ takes the top spot; Of scenery under heaven,none beats the Kuaiji Mountain,” as the saying goes. Shaoxing’s Keqiao district is thus planning a “Kuaiji Mountain-Jinghu Lake Tang Poetry Corridor”, part of the Tang Poetry Road in East Zhejiang. It is estimated about 450 Tang poets used to travel along the corridor and left behind numerous poems and prose essays. To revitalize the corridor the surrounding rural areas, Keqiao has issued a specially hand-drawn map and Up north, Hangzhou’s Xiaoshan district has been reviving Yupu, a unique natural and cultural scenic spot in the district’s Yiqiao township, as the starting point of the Tang Poetry Road in East Zhejiang. Indeed, Yiqiao has been chosen as the “Home of Chinese Poetry”, the first in Hangzhou. Besides, Yiqiao has also started to refurbish and renovate the town’s old street, restoring its old images and the traditional Jiangnan charm.

To the east, a Tang poetry-themed landscaping project worth about 5.5 million yuan was recently approved in Ningbo’s Yuyao city,which will add a number of decorations and ornaments to seven places. “Internet +” will also be applied in the project, so that residents and tourists will enjoy a smarter experience.

Meanwhile, projects on the Grand Canal Poetry Road have also witnessed steady progress. A total of 16 projects commenced operation in 2020 for the construction of the Grand Canal National Cultural Park. It is reported that, in 2021,the Hangzhou Grand Canal Comprehensive Protection and Development Group will invest a planned total of 7.76 billion yuan for another 132 projects, kickstarting the 14th Five-Year Plan.

In the past two years,the development of the poetry roads has also injected impetus into the cultural tourism industry.

In 2019, the added value of Zhejiang’s cultural industry increased by 10%, accounting for 7.4% of the GDP. Total tourism revenue exceeded one trillion yuan, and the added value of the tourism industry increased by 9% and accounted for 7.9% of the GDP. The growth rates of the cultural and tourism industries have exceeded that of the GDP,an indication that there is still  huge potential for Zhejiang’s cultural and tourism industries to grow.

In 2020, Zhejiang put into operation 287 major cultural and tourism projects, with a total investment of 307.87 billion yuan. Breaking down by cities, Huzhou tops the list with 41 projects,followed by Wenzhou with 40, Hangzhou with 32, Shaoxing with 30 and Zhoushan with 12. Breaking down by the amount of investment, Huzhou again comes first, with  37.1 billion yuan invested. Taizhou, Shaoxing, Hangzhou and Wenzhou have also invested more than 30 billion yuan each.

To tap the potential in the cultural tourism industry, Zhejiang is planning to establish a series of development platforms: developing characteristic cultural blocks and towns, and tourist companies featuring poetry roads, designing educational and cultural tours featuring poetry roads; and optimizing market mechanism to fully leverage social capital.

As Zheng Shanjie, the provincial governor, pointed out, the “four poetry roads” is a central project of Zhejiang, and it will greatly stimulate consumer spending as well as the development of the cultural tourism industry.

In addition,Zhejiang is also developing digital platforms for the poetry roads.

In 2020, Yongjia Center, the e-Poetry Road’s first experience center,was officially unveiled. With a total investment of 19 million yuan and covering an area of 1, 800 square meters, the Yongjia Center is a comprehensive platform that integrates digital experience, tourism display, cultural incubation, education and research.

It is part of the e-Poetry Road initiative, which aims to integrate and develop such IP resources as poetry,  scenic spots, historical relics and intangible cultural heritage through digital technologies such as imaging, VR/AR and 3D holographic projection. As well as the Yongjia Center, the e-Poetry Road initiative will put more centers along the four poetry roads in coming years.