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Shandong culture flourishes along Yellow River

花匠小妙招
2025-07-28 14:26

East China's Shandong province, where the Yellow River flows into the sea, is promoting the deep integration of culture and tourism, as well as empowering local economic and social development in an all-round way.

Yellow River Tower in Binzhou's Puhu Lake Scenic Area [Photo by Liu Chuan/chinadaily.com.cn]

Over the years, Shandong has launched an array of cultural tourism projects, making great strides in digging into the cultural connotations and value of the Yellow River to boost the high-quality development of the region.

One example is the Yellow River Tower in Binzhou's Puhu Lake Scenic Area, which was open to the public last year. It has become a cultural landmark of the Yellow River Basin where visitors can enjoy panoramic views of the river passing through the city, as well as watch exhibitions showcasing the river's profound history and culture.

Liu Shumin, head of Shandong Binsheng Scenic Area Management Service, said the tower has offered more than 20 courses on traditional Chinese culture, including movable-type printing and willow weaving.

"The tower also offers various types of activities, such as research tours, and undertakes Yellow River-themed photography exhibitions and video competitions. We have also developed more than 30 kinds of cultural and creative products," Liu added.

One of the most influential tourism brands in Yuncheng county, the Shuihu Film Studio is another key complex integrating film and television shooting, research, as well as performances. There are 36 courtyards, 72 landscape sites, and 108 scenic spots displaying the diverse cultures of the Chinese classic novel Shuihuzhuan, or Heros of the Marshes. During the Spring Festival this year, it received 30,000 to 40,000 visitors per day.

Shuihu Film Studio in Yuncheng county, Heze [Photo by Liu Chuan/chinadaily.com.cn]

Abundant resources

Shandong is home to 622 A-level scenic spots along the Yellow River, accounting for half of the total in the province, including the Caozhou Flower Garden in Heze's Mudan district, as well as the Aishan Mountain scenic area and the "Ejiao World" experience workshop in Liaocheng's Dong'e county.

Peonies bloom in April in Heze. [Photo/Caoxian news]

Relying on its unique natural endowment of wormwood, the plant used to cure malaria patients, Aishan village has accelerated the integrated development of the "planting, processing, and service" model for the wormwood industry. Local villagers have also developed businesses, such as farmhouses and homestays, to speed up rural tourism.

Walking into the "Ejiao World" experience workshop, visitors can learn about the production process of Ejiao, a gelatin used in traditional Chinese medicine, from boiling to laying and cutting to packaging. The site is the first ejiao-themed tourist attraction in China that combines industrial tourism with healthcare, science, interactions, and entertainment.

Rebirth of cultural heritage

Yellow River culture is a product of the material and spiritual advancement of the people living by the river throughout time, reflecting their long-term social practices, which have become profound cultural heritage items, as well as inspirations for local artistic creations and handicrafts.

Folklore performances at a century-old street in Lijin county, Dongying [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Lyu Opera, a unique genre of the Chinese art form, is rooted in Dongying's Shijia village. Wang Lingling, an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage item, said that Dongying has established a center for the protection, inheritance, and development of Lyu Opera.

In Nanling village in Dongying's Lijin county, a century-old street lies on the north bank of the Yellow River and boasts a series of intangible cultural heritage items, such as ancient yangqin, a hammered dulcimer, Nanling tofu, as well as Beiling meatballs.