Chapter Four The Rise of “Medicine and Tourism Linkage”

Panorama of Xianren Lake鳥瞰仙人湖

The Yundan Mountain in Qichun蘄春云丹山風光

On April 13, 2018 in a conference room on the second floor of the Aijing Grand Hotel in Qichun County, thunderous applause sounded. The Development Plan of the National TCM Health Tourism Demonstration Zone in Qichun County had been approved by the expert panel.

On September 18, 2017,t h e National Tourism Administration and the State Administration of TCM jointly issued a document,proclaiming Qichun as one of the first batch of fifteen national TCM health tourism demonstration zones. It was the only county-level establishment in the country.

Highlighting the Characteristics and Embedding Innovative Integration

“TCM health tourism is a systematic project, with TCM as the priority, tourism as the cornerstone, and humanity as the core starting point.We should look at the whole picture of regional tourism,and build a tourist destination with comprehensive functions.It is a new concept of tourism development.” said Li Kaishou,deputy director of the Hubei Provincial Tourism Development Committee.

Xianrentai covered by snow仙人臺雪景

2018年4月13日，蘄春縣艾晶大酒店二樓會議室里，響起雷鳴般的掌聲。《蘄春縣國家中醫藥健康旅游示范區發展規劃》，順利通過專家評審。

此前，2017年9月18日，國家旅游局、國家中醫藥管理局聯合發文公布，蘄春躋身首批十五個國家中醫藥健康旅游示范區創建行列，是全國唯一的縣級創建單位。

突出特色創新融合

“中醫藥健康旅游，是一個系統工程，中醫藥是亮點，旅游是落腳點，以人為本是最終的出發點。要站在全域旅游的高度，把一個區域整體作為功能完整的旅游目的地來建設，是一種全新旅游發展理念。”湖北省旅游發展委員會副主任李開壽說。

蘄春推進跨界融合創新發展，旅游與醫藥、健康、養生、文化產業深度融合，旅游與民族宗教融合，旅游與生態農業融合，旅游與體育產業融合，旅游與精準扶貧深度融合。持續走出一條差別競爭、特色取勝、錯位發展的旅游發展路子，推動全縣旅游業全面、協調和可持續發展。

近幾年，在“華中旅游博覽會”“西安絲綢之路博覽會”“東坡文化節”等知名節會期間，蘄春舉辦多場養生旅游投資項目招商推介會，累計簽約金額113.48億元。中醫藥健康旅游項目累計投入350多億元，全縣健康旅游產業呈現生機勃勃、方興未艾之勢。

The Henggang Mountain Scenic Spot橫崗山景區

藥旅聯動業態新

蘄春縣委、縣政府創新實施“藥旅聯動”戰略，明確創建“國家中醫藥健康旅游示范區”“湖北旅游強縣”的定性目標和“千億健康旅游產業”的定量目標。

黃岡市委常委、蘄春縣委書記趙少蓮指出，旅游業是一個戰略性事業，也是經濟、文化、生活、審美、形象和探索綜合體現的產業。蘄春縣委副書記、縣長詹才紅提出，以創建全省旅游強縣和國家中醫藥健康旅游示范區為目標，加快李時珍文化旅游區等核心景區建設。

縣里還編制《蘄春旅游發展總體規劃（2011-2030）》和一系列景區規劃。蘄春中醫藥健康旅游業的發展，迎來一個嶄新的春天。

在產業發展上，近年來蘄春大力推進“藥旅聯動”戰略，形成李時珍醫藥集團、蘄艾產業協會“兩大龍頭”帶動和李時珍工業園區、李時珍國際醫藥港、李時珍文化旅游區“三大平臺支撐”的健康產業基本發展格局。

Qichun is now promoting the cross-border and crossfield integration mode, which combines tourism with medicine,health, health care, and cultural industries. The integration of tourism and religion, tourism and ecological agriculture, tourism and sports industries, tourism and poverty alleviation will help pave a tourism-development path featuring differential competition,distinctive features, and crossborder development, so as to promote the county’s tourism industry in a comprehensive,coordinated, and sustainable manner.

In the past few years, at many well-known festivals such as“Central China Tourism Expo,”“Xi’an Silk Road Expo,” and“Dongpo Cultural Festival,”Qichun has held investment promotion conferences for health tourism investment projects,which achieved a cumulative contract value of RMB 11.348 billion.

Also, a total of more than 35 billion yuan has been invested in TCM health tourism projects,which has given birth to a vigorous and flourishing health tourism industry in the county.

Terraced fields of Wuyun Mountain, Qichun霧云山梯田

A New Picture of the “Medicine and Tourism Linkage” Format

Chilong Lake Wetland in Li Shizhen Cultural Tourism Zone李時珍文化旅游區·赤龍湖濕地

The Qichun Party Committee and County Government have initiated the “Medicine and Tourism Linkage” strategy and clearly established the targets to become a “National TCM Health Tourism Demonstration Zone”and “Powerful Tourism County in Hubei” with a “100-billion-yuan health tourism industry.”

隨著招商局集團、湖北省聯投介入大健康產業，招商局蘄春健康產業新城、李時珍文化旅游區和李時珍醫藥集團將成為蘄春大健康產業新的發展龍頭，旅游產業已進入快速發展的階段。

蘄春已創建國家4A級景區一個，3A級景區6個，標準化公廁16處，景區游客接待中心8處，旅游公路32公里。初步形成以高星級酒店為引領、商務酒店為主體、經濟型酒店和農家樂為補充的旅游住宿接待體系。

Night view of Wuyun Mountain霧云山夜景

The Puyang Temple 普陽觀

養生蘄春全域旅游

近年來，蘄春縣積極適應從“景點旅游”向“全域旅游”轉變的新要求，謀劃推動中醫藥健康旅游工作，按照“策劃為先、規劃為綱、產業為本、景觀為體、文化為魂”的發展思路，樹立“山山水水都是旅游資源、村村鎮鎮都是旅游節點、一切建設都是旅游景觀、全體人民都是旅游形象”的發展理念，打造全域旅游。

蘄春把整個縣域作為一個大景區來打造。高標準做好示范區發展規劃，堅持“點、線、面”結合，以山水生態旅游、農業休閑旅游、工業觀光旅游、城市養生旅游為支撐，加快推進李時珍文化旅游區、蘄艾特色小鎮等重點項目建設，加快開發仙人湖、橫崗山等重點景區，啟動建設一批健康旅游小鎮，創建一批4A、3A級景區和旅游名村，實現重點景區和鄉村旅游景點一線串珠。

蘄春重點打造醫圣祭拜、醫道養生、運動養生、藥膳養生、國醫國學、中醫藥生態拓展、“三色”（古色、紅色、綠色）等8條精品旅游線路，以“李時珍文化旅游區為龍頭，一線串聯文化展示、健康體驗、醫道養生、艾景觀光、特色小鎮、休閑度假、藥膳美食、旅游商品等八位一體”的旅游發展格局。

叫響品牌提升形象

通過叫響“養生蘄春，中國艾都”品牌，抓住紀念李時珍誕辰500周年系列活動和魅力中國城競演的機遇，推廣以蘄春為目的地的黃金旅游線路。

以打通武漢城市圈為重點，加快推進大別山中醫藥健康旅游發展規劃建設，健全完善大別山生態文化旅游區、咸寧南線旅游合作區等區域旅游合作聯盟，實現信息互通、資源共享。

Zhao Shaolian, member of the Standing Committee of the Huanggang Municipal Party Committee and secretary of the Qichun County Party Committee,pointed out that tourism is a strategic cause—it is an index industry that reflects economy,culture, life, aesthetics, and the image of a place. Zhan Caihong,county governor and deputy secretary of the Qichun County Party Committee, also proposed to speed up the construction of core scenic spots of Li Shizhen culture to meet the strategic target of establishing a strong provincial tourism industry and a national TCM health tourism demonstration zone.

Qichun also compiled the Qichun Tourism Development General Plan (2011-2030) as well as plans for a series of scenic spots. The development of TCM health tourism in Qichun has ushered in a brand new epoch.

In the area of industrial development, after years of continuous exploration and promotion of “Medicine and Tourism Linkage” strategies,the health industry has seen“two leading roles”—Li Shizhen Pharmaceutical Group and Qi Mugwort Industry Association—and “three major platforms,”namely Li Shizhen Industrial Park, Li Shizhen International Pharmaceutical Port, and Li Shizhen Cultural Tourism Zone.

With the involvement of the China Merchants Group and Hubei United Investment Group into the health industry, the Qichun Industrial New Town under China Merchants Group, Li Shizhen Cultural Tourism Zone,and Li Shizhen Pharmaceutical Group will become the new leaders in the development of Qichun’s big health industry. The tourism industry has entered a rapid development stage.

Qichun has established one national 4A-level scenic spot,six 3A-level scenic spots, 16 standardized public toilets, eight tourist reception centers, and 32 kilometers of tourist highways.A tourist accommodation and catering system was initially formed, led by high-star hotels and composed mainly of business hotels, and is now complemented by budget hotels and farmhouses.

Whole-area Tourism and Health Care in Qichun

Tangchong Village of Liuhe Town劉河湯沖美景

Li Shizhen Cultural Tourism Zone李時珍文化旅游區

Li Shizhen Herb Garden李時珍百草園

Qichun section of the Red Tourism Highway紅色旅游公路·蘄春段

In recent years, Qichun has actively adapted itself to the new requirements from “scenic spot tourism” to “whole-area tourism”and pushed itself towards TCM health tourism under the principle of “planning first,projects as the key, industry as the basis, landscape as the body, and culture as the soul.” As a result,the concept of “every mountain and river is a tourism resource,every village and town is a tourist spot, every piece of construction is scenic landscape, and every resident embodies an image” can be established, and a whole-area tourism model can be built.

2015年和2018年，兩次在央視一套新聞聯播黃金時段投放蘄春健康旅游廣告，“養生蘄春·戶外天堂”“中國艾都·養生蘄春”等悠揚的旋律唱響在世界各地。

2017年，全縣旅游接待游客432.16萬人次，同比增長29.82%，實現旅游收入29.12億元，同比增長28.95%。

“大鵬之功，非一羽之輕；騏驥之速，非一足之力。”今年是李時珍誕辰500周年，機會千載難逢，機遇稍縱即逝，作為醫圣故里，蘄春將在國家大力推進中醫藥健康旅游發展的大環境下，乘盛會之東風，借力藥旅聯動戰略，努力創建國家中醫藥健康旅游示范區和湖北省旅游強縣。

Qichun is planning to design the entire county into a large scenic spot by implementing high-standard demonstration zone development plans,combining the “point, line,surface” scenic landscape.With the establishment of landscape ecological tourism,agricultural leisure tourism,industrial sightseeing tourism,and industrial health care tourism, Qichun will be busy accelerating the construction of key projects like the Li Shizhen Cultural Tourism Zone and Qi Mugwort Theme Towns.Meanwhile, Qichun will speed up the development of Xianren Lake,Henggang Mountain, build up a number of healthy tourism towns,formulate a group of 4A and 3A scenic spots and famous tourist villages, and eventually unite key scenic spots with rural tourist spots in the county.

Qichun will focus on creating eight tourist routes, including“Medical Sage Worship,”“Medicine Health Care,” “Sports Health Care,” “Medicinal Diet Health Care,” “National Study +TCM Study,” “ TCM ecological development,” and “Three Colors”(Ancient, Red, Green). An eightin-one tourism development pattern will unfold with the Li Shizhen cultural tourism area as the leader, which will put cultural shows, the health care experience,medicinal health care, mugwort sightseeing, theme towns, leisure and vacation, herbal food, and tourism products all in one string.

A sea of clouds in Pingfeng Village屏風古寨觀云海

Image Building by Brand Promotion

Qichun will seize the opportunity of commemorating the 500th anniversary of the birth of Li Shizhen and the ongoing Charming China Town competition performance to popularize its branding slogan“Capital of Mugwort, the Health Care City,” thus promoting Qichun tourism routes.

By melting into Wuhan’s urban agglomerations, Qichun will accelerate the development of TCM health tourism by the Dabie Mountains, improve and perfect regional tourism cooperation such as the Dabie Mountains Ecological Cultural Tourism Zone and Xianning South Line Tourism Cooperation Zone, so as to achieve information and resource sharing.

In 2015 and 2018, respectively,advertisements for Qichun health tourism were screened on prime time on the CCTV news channel.The melody of “Healthy Qichun,Outdoor Paradise” and “Capital of Mugwort, the Health Care City”tuned in the air.

In 2017, Qichun received 4,321,600 tourist visits, an annual increase of 29.82%— the tourism revenue amounts to 2.912 billion yuan, with an annual increase of 28.95%.

“The power of a phoenix does not come from one single feather; the speed of a steed is not determined by one foot.” This year marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of Li Shizhen; a golden opportunity is awaiting Qichun.As the hometown of this medical sage, Qichun will cherish this chance to be a good host and make the best out of it. In the course of promoting TCM and health tourism, Qichun will keep to the“Medicine and Tourism Linkage”strategy, and strive to build itself into a national TCM health tourism demonstration zone, and a strong tourist county in Hubei Province.