The 2026 Hunan Rural Cultural Tourism Festival and Hunan Alpine Summer Retreat and Wellness Season kicked off in Xinhua County, Loudi City on June 29. Over the following month, Zhangjiajie, Yanling, Anhua, Guidong, and Xinhua will successively offer "cooling feasts," creating a summer retreat extravaganza spanning the entire summer season for tourists from all over the country.

The opening ceremony. (Photo/Zeng Zhenke)

Hunan boasts abundant mountainous resources, with alpine summer retreats being a key part of rural tourism and summer wellness. Yan Changwen, member of the CPC Leadership Group and deputy director of the Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, said that in recent years, Hunan has continuously focused on the theme of "Welcome to Hunan for Summer Wellness," leveraging its cool cultural and tourism resources to build natural summer retreat and wellness destinations. The province has forged a distinctive path of "turning cooling resources into a thriving industry and promoting common prosperity through rural tourism."

This year's event adopts a "1+4+N" linkage model. With Yongding District in Zhangjiajie as the host, the event coordinates with Xinhua, Anhua, Guidong, and Yanling, exerting influence on other cities and one autonomous prefecture across the province to simultaneously carry out themed activities. The efforts aim to further construct a province-wide coordinated development pattern for alpine summer retreat and wellness.

The opening ceremony begins with Meishan martial arts and Nuo dance performance "Ancient Charm of Meishan." (Photo/Zeng Zhenke)

Xinhua County is located in the heart of the Xuefeng Mountains, the hometown of Chi You and the core birthplace of Meishan culture. With its verdant mountains and winding Zijiang River, Xinhua is home to numerous cultural and tourism resources such as the Ziquejie Terraced Fields, Daxiong Mountain National Forest Park, Meishan Cave, and Qujiangyuan. The county boasts a summer retreat destination blending natural beauty, cultural charm, and wellness benefits. In recent years, leveraging its advantages in "mountains, waters, lakes, and fields," the county has continuously tapped into the potential of the "cooling economy" and promoted the deep integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism.

The opening ceremony began with Meishan martial arts and Nuo dance performance "Ancient Charm of Meishan." At the event, a Xinhua cultural tourism ambassador gave a special presentation on "2026 Xinhua Cool Summer Retreat and Wellness Products," and the Xinhua County Bureau of Culture, Tourism, Radio, Television, and Sports signed a strategic cooperation agreement on tourist exchanges with the Hunan Association of Travel Services. Representatives from related scenic areas, resorts, and wellness projects also signed cooperation agreements with the Hunan Rural Cultural Tourism Promotion Association around building alpine wellness and retreat destinations. This aimed to further advance the transformation of Xinhua's summer retreat and wellness resources into market products, consumption scenarios, and residential tourism brands.

The signing ceremony. (Photo/Zeng Zhenke)

The first joint event will last two days and feature a series of activities, including a terraced field bazaar, an intangible cultural heritage song festival, and a rainbow run. The activities will showcase Xinhua's high-quality alpine summer retreat and wellness resources, its profound Meishan cultural heritage, and diverse achievements in rural cultural tourism development. This marked the start of this summer's cooling and wellness offerings.

责编：宛俊余

一审：宛俊余

二审：秦慧英

三审：张权

来源：湖南省政府门户网