The 2026 Changsha Municipal Bureau of Culture, Tourism, Radio and Television Work Conference was recently convened, releasing the city's key cultural tourism construction project list for the year. The list outlined 124 key projects across eight major categories, with a total investment of 54.514 billion CNY.

This year, an array of highly-anticipated major cultural tourism projects will progress rapidly:

- The Orange Isle Scenic Area will undergo comprehensive upgrading to safety management, nighttime lighting, and boat docking facilities;

- The Yuelu Mountain National Scenic Area will construct a new 5,200-meter pedestrian boardwalk and optimize a 1,400-meter vehicular roadway;

- The Hunan Broadcasting Mango Town Investment will develop Mango Town, Water World, and other projects, to create a national unique media tourism landmark;

- The Changsha Kingdom of Han Dynasty Cultural Tourism Zone will commence development;

- The Jia Yi Residence Cultural Tourism Project will recreate the scale and architectural style of the Ming and Qing dynasties; and,

- The Hunan Tongguan Shudian Micro-drama, Film, and Television Town will build itself into a national hub for the micro-drama industry.

New business formats will emerge as highlights. The Changsha Olympic Sports Center, spanning 1,000 mu (approximately 66.7 hectares), is poised to become a new urban landmark. The Dawangshan Pingtan Deep Pit Sports Park centers on "mining terrain + extreme sports + internet-famous leisure," creating China's first "triple-integrated" urban outdoor adventure destination. The Xiangzikou Zhibo Aviation Aircraft R&D Experience Center will extend its runway to 650 meters, expanding low-altitude economic applications in cultural tourism.

Cultural infrastructure will step up construction. Major cultural facilities such as the West High-speed Railway Station Resident Cultural Center, the Fifth Workers' Cultural Palace, the South Branch of Changsha Library, the new Changsha Art Museum, and the new site of Changsha Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology are advancing in stages, laying a solid foundation for the flourishing Changsha cultural development.

Changsha's cultural and tourism sector delivered impressive results in 2025, securing 95 national and provincial honors throughout the year. The city has been taking the lead in provincial government performance evaluations for five consecutive years. The total tourist trips to Changsha surged from 115 million in 2021 to 233 million, while total tourist spending grew from 129 billion CNY to 258 billion CNY, both achieving double increase. The inbound tourist arrivals reached 425,900, with spending hitting 335 million USD, both exceeding 40% year-on-year growth. Changsha Port ranked first among central China's provincial capitals in foreign tourist arrivals.

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

Translator: Yu Jiangjiang

Chinese source: Voice of Hunan