Executive Summary: Key Takeaways for Investors and Industry Leaders
– Henan province is experiencing a tourism renaissance, driven by hit cultural IPs like Wansui Mountain武侠城 (Wansui Mountain Martial Arts City), which saw a 146.9% year-on-year increase in visitors in 2025, reaching over 24.5 million entries, and generating 12.7 billion yuan in revenue.
– The province aims to elevate its cultural and tourism industry value-added to over 10% of GDP by 2030, transitioning from a “big” to a “strong” tourism province through cluster development and immersive experiences.
– Despite leading in visitor numbers, Henan faces the challenge of “旺丁不旺财” (high traffic but low spending), with per-capita tourism消费仅为662.59元 during the 2025 National Day holiday, ranking 19th nationally, highlighting the need for quality upgrades.
– A fusion strategy of “culture + tourism + commerce” is being deployed, leveraging commercial IPs like Pang Donglai (胖东来) and Mixue Bingcheng (蜜雪冰城) to create new consumption scenes and drive industrial transformation.
– Government initiatives, such as the “Implementation Plan for Accelerating the Construction of a Modern Cultural and Tourism Industry System to Promote a Strong Cultural and Tourism Province (Draft for Comments),” provide policy support for mass-producing hit IPs and building a pillar industry.
The Dramatic Rise of Henan’s Tourism Scene
In recent years, Henan province has emerged as a laboratory for innovation in China’s cultural and tourism sector. The story centers on Wansui Mountain武侠城 (Wansui Mountain Martial Arts City) in Kaifeng, a theme park that has captivated young audiences with immersive experiences dubbed “a must-visit for江湖人 (jianghu enthusiasts)” and “a Chinese-style Disney.” Its success has not only boosted local tourism but ignited a broader discussion on whether Henan can systematically mass-produce hit IPs to establish tourism as a genuine pillar industry. With the cultural and tourism industry’s value-added already accounting for 8.87% of Henan’s GDP in 2024, the provincial government has set an ambitious target: exceed 10% by 2030. This journey from sporadic success to sustainable industrial cluster holds critical lessons for investors eyeing China’s domestic consumption revival and the evolution of experience-based economies.
Deconstructing the Wansui Mountain武侠城 Phenomenon: A Template for Hit IPs
The explosive growth of Wansui Mountain武侠城 offers a masterclass in modern tourism operations. From a comprehensive revenue of just over 80 million yuan in 2022, it skyrocketed to 12.7 billion yuan in 2025, a 15-fold increase in three years. This wasn’t mere luck but the result of a deliberate strategy to mass-produce engaging experiences.
Operational Innovation and Dynamic Content
Park management attributes its success to five core operational models: innovation and value-for-money offerings, an interactive “silver ticket + NPC” system, affordable pricing, a three-day unlimited entry pass, and a bundled ticket covering multiple attractions. Crucially, as analyzed by Yang Yanfeng (杨彦锋), director of the Online Travel Research Center at Beijing Union University, Wansui Mountain shifted from依赖 on natural landscapes to a content-centric approach. It stages over 4,000 performances daily, such as the popular “三打祝家庄 (Three Attacks on Zhu Village),” and dynamically adjusts acts based on real-time visitor feedback. This creates a competitive, ever-refreshing ecosystem that fosters repeat visits and word-of-mouth marketing.
Foundational Advantages: Demography and Culture
Yang Yanfeng (杨彦锋) emphasizes that replicating this model requires specific conditions. Henan benefits from a massive population base of over 100 million, providing a ready stream of nearby visitors. Moreover, the province’s profound historical底蕴, spanning the Song Dynasty and beyond, offers rich素材 for crafting immersive narratives. These inherent advantages position Henan as a prime candidate to scale the mass-production of hit IPs beyond a single site.
Beyond a Lone Star: Henan’s Expanding Tourism Constellation
Wansui Mountain武侠城 is not an isolated case. During the 2026 New Year holiday, it led provincial attractions with 293,000 visitors, but Kaifeng’s Qingming Shanghe Park (清明上河园) followed closely with 267,000 visitors, boasting a 97.6% growth rate. Revenue-wise, Qingming Shanghe Park outperformed with 29.723 million yuan, a 148.5% increase. Similarly, Only Henan·Theatre Fantasy (只有河南·戏剧幻城) in Zhongmu has gained acclaim for its dramatic renditions of local culture. This cluster effect signals that Henan’s cultural体验型 tourism products are resonating deeply with the market.
Macro Achievements and Underlying Weaknesses
In 2024, Henan achieved historic milestones: total tourist arrivals exceeded 1 billion for the first time, and tourism revenue surpassed 1 trillion yuan. However, at the 2025 Henan Provincial Cultural and Tourism Development Conference in Kaifeng, Huang Dongsheng (黄东升), Party Secretary and Director of the Henan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, candidly outlined “六强六弱 (six strengths and six weaknesses).” Key among these is that the industry is “strong in product but weak in industrial transformation,” leading to inefficiencies in monetizing visitor traffic. The 2025 National Day holiday data underscores this: while Henan led the nation with 81.363 million visitors and an 89.10% growth rate, per-capita spending was仅662.59元, lagging behind many peers.
Confronting the Core Challenge: From Volume to Value Creation
The critical hurdle for Henan is transcending the “旺丁不旺财 (bustling with people but not wealth)” syndrome. Yu Xin’an (喻新安), president of the Henan Zhongyuan Innovation and Development Research Institute, identifies深层 challenges including insufficient high-quality product supply, a need to optimize the tourism consumption environment, untapped consumption potential, and a shortage of skilled talent. To overcome this, Henan must focus on enhancing the “含金量 (gold content)” of its tourism ecosystem.
Strategic Responses and Quality Upgrades
The provincial government’s draft implementation plan proposes concrete measures: a cultural activation and storytelling initiative, the creation of new immersive performance scenes, and the development of thematic, customized演艺 projects. It also aims to cultivate diverse programs like small-scale operas, dance dramas, and Henan dialect comedies. As Yang Yanfeng (杨彦锋) notes, attracting crowds is the first success; the next step is to refine业态布局 and services to unlock spending. This aligns with the broader goal of mass-producing hit IPs that are not only popular but profitable.
The Fusion Engine: Integrating Culture, Tourism, and Commerce
To bridge the gap to a 10% GDP contribution, Henan is actively breaking down silos between sectors. The “culture + tourism + commerce” model is seen as a multiplier, leveraging existing commercial流量 to boost tourism and vice-versa.
Commercial IPs as Tourism Magnets
The phenomenon of Pang Donglai (胖东来), a supermarket chain in Xuchang, exemplifies this. During the 2024 National Day holiday, it attracted 4.5 million visitors, generating 820 million yuan in sales—surpassing the combined客流 of Henan’s top five 5A级景区 like Longmen Grottoes. Local governments are capitalizing on this: Xuchang has incorporated Pang Donglai into its tourism规划, while Xinxiang is developing routes linking Baliwagou scenic area with Pang Donglai and offering shuttle services. Yang Yanfeng (杨彦锋) asserts that Pang Donglai now possesses destination-level流量承载能力, showing how cross-sector新业态 can drive融合.
Policy Support for Integrated Development
The draft implementation plan explicitly calls for promoting商文旅融合发展. It plans to utilize本土知名商业品牌 like Pang Donglai and Mixue Bingcheng (蜜雪冰城) to create 20 new integrated consumption scenes. Yu Xin’an (喻新安) recommends fusing特色 IPs such as Oracle Bone Script (甲骨文) and Song Dynasty culture with commercial complexes, using culture to attract流量 and commerce to monetize it, thereby achieving a双向提升 in cultural value and economic效益. This strategic approach is central to Henan’s ambition to mass-produce hit IPs sustainably.
Pathway to a Pillar Industry: Policy, Targets, and Global Ambitions
Henan’s vision is crystallized in its policy frameworks. The draft plan supports leading scenic areas like Wansui Mountain武侠城 in strengthening and optimizing, aiming to build a phenomenal “Henan Tourist Attraction Cluster.” The 2030 target of over 10% GDP contribution from tourism underscores the province’s commitment to making this sector a支柱产业.
Expert Insights and Forward-Looking Guidance
Industry observers highlight that success hinges on continuous innovation and quality enhancement. The ability to mass-produce hit IPs requires not just replicating formats but adapting to evolving consumer demands for emotional value and deep engagement. Investors should monitor the implementation of these policies, the performance of emerging IPs, and metrics around per-capita spending and industrial value-added. As Henan leverages its demographic and cultural assets, the potential for creating a world-class tourism cluster becomes increasingly tangible.
Synthesizing the Journey from Cultural Wealth to Economic Power
Henan’s tourism narrative is one of transformation, driven by the strategic creation and scaling of cultural IPs. The success of Wansui Mountain武侠城, complemented by other attractions and fueled by commercial integration, provides a blueprint for turning cultural heritage into economic gain. However, the province must navigate the challenge of elevating spending per visitor and ensuring that industrial growth is both qualitative and quantitative. With targeted policies and a focus on immersive, high-value experiences, Henan is poised to transition from a文旅大省 to a文旅强省. For global investors and industry stakeholders, this represents a compelling case study in how regional economies can harness soft power for hard economic results, ultimately aspiring to build a tourism pillar industry that stands resilient and dynamic on the world stage.