Zhejiang Cultural Tourism Observation: Why is Hefang Street complained by "Generation Z"?

　　Chinanews, Hangzhou, February 11th, title: Zhejiang Cultural Tourism Observation: Why is Hefang Street complained by "Generation Z"?

　　Reporter Wang Titi

　　Hefang Street is a famous historical and cultural block in Hangzhou, with profound cultural heritage and prosperous commerce. It is considered as one of the "Eight Ancient Streets in China". It is as famous as Nanluoguxiang in Beijing, Jinli in Chengdu, and Ciqikou in Chongqing. , is also a popular check-in place for tourists.

　　Recently, the reporter visited Hefang Street.

When you come to the block, you will be greeted by an antique atmosphere. The fiery red lanterns, bluish-white fences, bright and shiny archways, and century-old shops such as Hu Qingyu Hall on the street all make this place full of antiquity.

　　But the reporter noticed that Hefang Street also has many common problems of old-fashioned commercial streets: in the whole block, the taste of Hangzhou is still overwhelmed by stinky tofu, big roast sausage, big squid and other big-ticket products, and the tourist souvenirs also have a strong "Made in Yiwu" atmosphere , there are not many shops of traditional specialty food and cultural and creative products in Hangzhou.

　　The reporter walked into a grocery store, which sold a variety of small commodities, such as bracelets, pendants, necklaces and so on.

There is also a consumer lottery, the commercial routine of "free jewelry for winning the lottery, and only 8% manual fee".

　　On a social networking site with mainly young users, some netizens said that when they went to Hefang Street, they all experienced the situation of giving free jewelry through lottery draws. They used commercial routines to induce tourists to consume, and the experience was very bad.

Photo by Wang Gang, Hefang Street, Hangzhou

　　At the exit of the block, the reporter met Ms. Sun, a tourist from Nanjing, Jiangsu, and her two friends.

　　She told reporters that it was her second day in Hangzhou, and this was her first visit to Hefang Street.

　　After visiting Hefang Street, she said bluntly, "I'm a little disappointed! Hefang Street is too commercialized, and it doesn't have the accent of the historical and cultural districts by the canal."

　　Apart from complaining, she also praised the Qiaoxi historical and cultural district by the canal.

There, they visited Xiaofeng Bookstore, health-themed milk tea shops and bakeries, as well as leather goods stores and jewelry stores that can provide handmade experiences.

"It's also an old street, which makes people 'refreshing' and lingering."

　　In fact, like Ms. Sun, some netizens complained that Hefang Street is too commercialized, "I have lost the historical blessing of Imperial Street in the Imperial City of the Southern Song Dynasty."

　　In contrast, Dajing Lane, which is only one wall away from Hefang Street, has received rave reviews.

　　Some netizens praised: "There are coffee shops, tea rooms, bookstores, restaurants, and handcraft workshops in a short alley. It is really a treasure!" "If you want to choose a place in Hangzhou where you can drink coffee and watch Dajing Lane is undoubtedly the best choice for a cultural and ancient street." "Although it is adjacent to Hefang Street, Dajing Lane is really a clean stream. It is not 'intruded' by the heavy commercial atmosphere, but it is very quiet and reserved. The historical relics from thousands of years ago and the market culture of old Hangzhou.”

Fanghuichuntang, a century-old store on Hefang Street, photo by Wang Titi

　　Zhou Yongguang, deputy director of the Tourism Research Institute of Zhejiang University, told reporters that in fact, there have been comments about the need to adjust the business format of Hefang Street a long time ago. The general opinion is that there are many low-end and repetitive stores.

The store's feedback is that "low-end goods can make money."

　　Through research, Zhou Yongguang found that Hefang Street is a market suitable for selling low-end products.

Most of the tourists who come here will not have a high consumption level.

Hefang Street meets the needs of many middle-aged and elderly people, which may be the reason why young people complain about it.

　　In the view of Professor Jia Yunfeng, an expert from the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the operational thinking of Hefang Street is still a flat thinking of "bringing doctrine", lacking the concept of cultural tourism authors and the thinking of cultural tourism creators.

"Whatever cultural tourism product is popular, use it to carry out a small innovation and make it local, sell it for a period of time, and then consider other things." This kind of thinking is not advisable in cultural tourism operations.

　　In fact, the current situation in Hefang Street is also a common phenomenon in domestic commercial streets.

　　Jia Yunfeng believes that the success of a block mainly depends on its original ability.

Its core premise is that it cannot be purely "bringing doctrine", but must try to ensure originality, and it must be mobilized by the whole people.

"The joint creation from residents to travelers will bring about breakthroughs in the entire block."

　　He also shared the experience of developing tourism in foreign commercial streets.

　　For example, Las Ramblas in Barcelona, ​​also known as "The Avenue of the Wanderers".

It is the most popular neighborhood in Barcelona, ​​both local citizens and tourists are frequent visitors here.

Homeless people from all over the world gather here to perform art on the pedestrian street. There are various paintings, handicrafts, living sculptures, etc., and the artistic atmosphere is quite strong.

　　He said that the premise of doing commercial street tourism is to do well in the three major tasks of "understanding local culture, understanding market demand, and closely following the pulse of tourists".

Take closely following the pulse of tourists as an example, the pulse of tourists in 2023 will be different from the past.

In the past, doing a script killing or holding an e-sports competition can bring fire to the scenic spot, but now the scenic spot should pay more attention to the overall planning and development of parent-child tours, girlfriend tours, and in-depth fit for young people's emotional hearts.

(over)