The opening ceremony of the Fifth Hunan Tourism Development Conference and the Hunan Culture and Tourism Industry Investment and Financing Conference kicked off in Huaihua City on September 17, 2025. Shen Xiaoming, secretary of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee, attended and announced the start of the conference. Mao Weiming, deputy secretary of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and governor of the People's Government of Hunan Province, presided over the ceremony. Mao Wanchun, chairperson of the CPPCC Hunan Provincial Committee, and Xie Weijiang, secretary of the CPC Yueyang Municipal Committee, were present. Prior to the opening ceremony, Secretary Shen and his colleagues met with some guests attending the conference.

On September 17, the opening ceremony of the Fifth Hunan Tourism Development Conference and the Hunan Culture and Tourism Industry Investment and Financing Conference are held in Huaihua City. 

Secretary Shen announces the start of the conference.

Secretary Shen, on behalf of the provincial Party committee and the provincial government, extended a warm welcome to the attending guests and expressed gratitude for their long-standing care and support for Hunan. He noted that Hunan Province boasts stunning natural landscapes, profound cultural heritage, and abundant tourism resources. In recent years, Hunan has thoroughly studied and implemented the spirit of President Xi Jinping's important speeches and directives concerning Hunan's work, and vigorously boosted the development of tourism industry, striving to transforming its natural scenery and cultural charm into enduring appeal for tourism.

The secretary stated that the provincial Party committee and the provincial government have paid great attention to hosting the tourism development conference, highlighting the pragmatic outcomes of "prospering the city via hosting the tourism development conference." The provincial authorities attached great importance to sustainable development, market-oriented operations, public participation, benefits for people's well-being, green ecology, investment efficiency, and frugality, aiming to make the conference increasingly successful. Secretary Shen expressed his hope that all participants would contribute their valuable insights and suggestions to jointly advance the high-quality development of Hunan's tourism industry. Hunan will continue to optimize its business environment, providing better conditions and services for cultural and tourism enterprises to invest and thrive in the province, he added.

Before the opening ceremony, Secretary Shen and his colleagues meet with some guests attending the conference.

Governor Mao welcomed guests from all corners of the world to gather in "Huaihua—a blessed place where you feel at home," experiencing the new vision of all-for-one tourism. He asked to thoroughly implement President Xi Jinping's important directives on tourism development, continuously deepening and expanding the integration of "tourism plus culture," "tourism plus technology," and "tourism plus more industries." He believed that through high-quality development of the tourism sector, we will enhance the region's image, drive project construction, attract investment, boost consumption, and improve people's livelihoods. These will sustainably strengthen the international appeal of Hunan's "five cultural and tourism calling cards" represented by Zhangjiajie, Shaoshan, Changsha, Hengshan Mountain, and the Chengtoushan Ancient Cultural Site, empowering the province's high-quality development.

Governor Mao presides over the ceremony.

Provincial leaders Wu Guiying, Liu Hongbing, and Wu Lan participated in relevant activities. Jiang Difei, Hunan vice governor; He Yafei, vice chairperson and secretary-general of the International Mountain Tourism Alliance; and, Zhang Baojiang, deputy Party secretary and president of the Bank of Communications, made speeches.

Keynote speeches were delivered by Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy and director of the Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism; Shen Wenhai, Party secretary and chairperson of the China Mobile Migu Culture Technology Co., Ltd.; and Wang Wei, senior vice president of Ctrip Group. Huaihua City delivered a presentation on promoting its cultural and tourism resources and handed over the conference flag to Xiangtan City, the host of the Sixth Hunan Tourism Development Conference. An array of investment and financing achievements in the province's cultural tourism industry were also released at the meeting. A signing ceremony for cooperative projects was also held.

Prior to the meeting, attendees conducted an on-site inspection of key cultural and tourism projects of Huaihua City.

Photos taken by Tang Jun and Liu Shangwen.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Yu Jiangjiang

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn