The 10th joint meeting on the construction of the Ba-Shu Cultural Tourism Corridor, held on December 18, reached a special milestone: the first-phase planning objectives of the Construction Plan for the Ba-Shu Cultural Tourism Corridor (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan") have been successfully achieved.

Joint efforts have been made to advance coordinated legislation on Sichuan Opera, promote people-to-people tourism between residents, and attract over 100 million visits from non-local tourists to Sichuan and Chongqing. Under the major opportunities presented by national strategies, with collaboration among ministries, provinces, and cities, Sichuan-Chongqing coordination, government-led initiatives, and multi-party participation, the Ba-Shu Cultural Tourism Corridor has evolved from "coordinated planning" to "shared development consensus" and from "blueprint design" to "tangible reality", driving the enhancement of regional cultural and tourism competitiveness as a whole.

Spatial Pattern Takes Shape Holistically

Building the Ba-Shu Cultural Tourism Corridor is an important part of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle construction. In 2022, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Chongqing Municipal People's Government, and the People's Government of Sichuan Province jointly issued the Construction Plan for the Ba-Shu Cultural Tourism Corridor. At the meeting, it was reported that upon the conclusion of the first-phase planning period, the construction of the Ba-Shu Cultural Tourism Corridor has yielded remarkable outcomes in areas such as coordination mechanisms, spatial layout, reform and innovation, systematic cultural conservation, cultural exchanges, and brand building and cultivation.

The spatial pattern takes shape holistically. The development framework of "two hubs, three belts, seven areas, and multiple lines" explicitly outlined in the Plan has been fully implemented. Sichuan and Chongqing have jointly connected three interprovincial cultural and tourism corridors: the Chengdu-Chongqing Ancient Road, the Upper Yangtze River (Sichuan-Chongqing Reach), and the Jialing River Scenic Byway.

Reform and innovation have achieved phased breakthroughs. Sichuan and Chongqing have jointly advanced the legislation on Sichuan Opera, achieving the first cross-provincial coordinated legislation in the cultural sector nationwide. Efforts have been stepped up to jointly develop the Ziyang-Dazu Cultural Tourism Integration Development Demonstration Zone, and the processing of cultural and tourism licenses under the "Sichuan-Chongqing joint administrative services" initiative has been expanded, with efficiency improved.

Cultural heritage has been systematically preserved. Joint implementation of the Bashu Cultural Continuity Project has led to new progress in major initiatives such as "Archaeology of China—Research on the Development of Ba-Shu Civilization in the Sichuan-Chongqing Region". Major cultural and tourism projects, such as the Yangtze River National Cultural Park (Sichuan-Chongqing Reach) and the Sichuan-Chongqing Grotto Temple National Heritage Park, are progressing in an orderly manner.

Brand cultivation is forging new pathways for consumption. Bringing together "Sichuan Ease" and "Majestic Landscape Dynamic Chongqing", the two places jointly conducted international and domestic promotion activities for Ba-Shu cultural tourism, creating a series of regional cultural and tourism brands such as "Touch of Magic" (literally "Dian Shi Cheng Jin"). Together, they have launched over 70 premium themed routes, such as world heritage tours, developed 65 new international trendy consumption venues, and operated more than 1,780 themed train journeys along the Ba-Shu Cultural Tourism Corridor.

Jointly Launching the Ba-Shu Global Promotion Initiative

Upon the full accomplishment of the first-phase planning objectives, the construction of the Ba-Shu Cultural Tourism Corridor has entered a new phase focused on quality enhancement, efficiency improvement, and capacity upgrading. The relevant official stated that building the Ba-Shu Cultural Tourism Corridor together is not a "solo endeavor" by the cultural and tourism departments alone. Instead, it calls for further mobilizing the enthusiasm of all sides involved, accumulating strength and momentum to create a "collaborative symphony".

Next year, the construction of the Ba-Shu Cultural Tourism Corridor will focus on eight key tasks: jointly formulating the "15th Five-Year Plan" series of planning documents, stepping up efforts to establish the Ba-Shu Cultural Ecological Protection Zone, conserving and enhancing the Ba-Shu cultural heritage clusters, collaboratively creating a premium matrix of Ba-Shu cultural and artistic excellence, enhancing the convenient sharing of public services through coordination, advancing regional collaborative reform and innovation pilots, jointly implementing the Ba-Shu Global Promotion Initiative, and deepening the coordinated co-construction mechanism with a holistic thinking.

Aligning closely with the national "15th Five-Year Plan" formulation timeline, Sichuan and Chongqing will strive to integrate the construction of the Ba-Shu Cultural Tourism Corridor into the national cultural industry and tourism development plans, jointly promote the inclusion of key projects in these plans, and emphasize deeper alignment and seamless integration with national strategies.

In jointly creating a premium matrix of Ba-Shu cultural and artistic excellence, both regions will implement the Ba-Shu Premium Cultivation Initiative. This will involve linking attractions like pearls on a string to develop premium routes such as "Charming Twin Cities", "World Heritage Tour", and "Magnificent Three Gorges", while coordinating efforts to create the Ba-Shu Grand Tour Circuit. Efforts also include developing brand IPs such as the Chengdu-Chongqing Theater Festival, integrating time-honored brands of Sichuan and Chongqing flavors, and collaboratively organizing cross-regional tourism and gourmet carnivals.

In jointly implementing the Ba-Shu Global Promotion Initiative, the two regions will collaboratively promote the cultural tourism brand "Sichuan Ease, Dynamic Chongqing", jointly carry out "Sichuan-Chongqing–Lancang-Mekong" cultural tourism exchange activities, and work together to build themselves as the "first stop" for inbound tourists from Southeast Asia.