On April day in the world, Macheng looks at the cuckoo! The Guifeng Mountain rhododendron, known as the "most beautiful red ribbon on the Dabie Mountains", sways with the beauty of red: 100000 acres of original ecological ancient rhododendron, recognized by the Shanghai Grand World Guinness headquarters as the "largest ancient rhododendron community in the world".

Strive to create 5A scenic spots and provide tourists with new experiences

The Rhododendron in Guifeng Mountain is the most concentrated distribution of Rhododendrons in the world, with the purest forest structure, the largest population area, the oldest tree age, the most well preserved, and the most magnificent natural rhododendron community in the landscape. As a landmark scenic area in the eastern Hubei region, Macheng Guifeng Mountain Scenic Area, which was rated as a national 4A level scenic area many years ago, has been making unremitting efforts to become a national 5A level scenic area.

In October 2016, Guifeng Mountain Scenic Area passed the national landscape quality expert evaluation. In April 2018, the Executive Board of UNESCO officially approved the Hubei Huanggang Dabie Mountain Geopark as the UNESCO World Geopark. The Guifeng Mountain Scenic Area, as an important component of the three major parks of the Huanggang Dabie Mountain World Geopark, plays a very important role.

In recent years, Hubei Jiaotou Dabie Mountain Company has completed 113 specific project construction tasks in six aspects of the Guifeng Mountain Scenic Area 5A creation responsibility list in accordance with the national 5A scenic area creation standards and relevant requirements. It has achieved comprehensive upgrading of infrastructure, tourism transportation, smart tourism, signage, cultural construction, and other aspects within the scenic area, significantly improving tourist satisfaction and sightseeing experience.

Creating a 5A scenic area is both a goal and a starting point, "said Yu Jian, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Hubei Jiaotou Dabie Mountain Company. Creating a 5A scenic area is not just about striving for a more resounding" golden signboard ". Good service, beautiful scenery, and constantly refreshing appearance can bring a good experience to tourists.

As a result, the service hardware of Guifeng Mountain Scenic Area has been greatly improved, with the establishment of a new monitoring, rescue, and security network, 96 monitoring points, 195 monitoring cameras, 7 self-service alarms, 5 forest fire warnings, and 8 pedestrian flow monitoring points, allowing real-time observation of the operation of the scenic area. We have also built a smart parking, cash register, and ticketing system to achieve functions such as online ticket booking and real-time panoramic navigation.

Lu Yingjin, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of Hubei Communications Investment Dabie Mountain Company, introduced that the company is currently increasing its marketing and publicity efforts by enriching offline activities such as scenic area activities, event marketing, hot topic manufacturing on new media platforms, and synchronized media matrix promotion, as well as online publicity and explosive methods, Comprehensively showcasing the "largest area", "oldest", "highest density", "purest variety", "most beautiful flower color" and other "five most" wild rhododendron characteristics of the Guifeng Mountain Rhododendron Sea, further promoting the "Crown Rhododendron" brand, enhancing the international and domestic popularity and influence of the Guifeng Mountain Rhododendron, and assisting in creating a national 5A level scenic spot.

From one season tour to "seasonal tour"

Dabie Mountain Company has organized teams to participate in Huanggang Cultural Tourism Promotion Activities, World Tourism Expo Promotion Activities, China Shandong (Jinan) International Tourism Fair, and other events. Through major festivals to promote Guifeng Mountain, it has further enhanced the brand awareness of brands such as "April in the World, Seeing Azaleas in Macheng", "The Most Exciting Red Flower Sea at 30 degrees North Latitude", and "The Most Beautiful Red Ribbon of Dabie Mountain".

Previously, Guifeng Mountain Scenic Area was a resource oriented scenic area, with only azaleas as its core landscape. Due to the limited flowering time and the influence of weather, climate, and other factors, the tourism products are single, and one season travel is more obvious. Nowadays, the scenic area has invested heavily in creating new types of amusement projects such as karting and high-altitude rock climbing, boosting confidence in retaining tourists.

Global Tourism Helps Rural Revitalization

On Guifeng Mountain, tea gardens and farmhouses are dotted in the early morning mist. During the peak season of admiring flowers, there are a plethora of guests dining and staying every day. We are planning to expand two more guest rooms to expand our business, "said Huang Deyuan, a villager who runs a farmhouse in the Guifeng Mountain scenic area.

Dabie Mountain Company incorporated all farmhouses and hotels in Guifeng Mountain into the unified management system. With the tourist center as the front desk, it unified marketing and promotion, realized online booking, and promoted common prosperity of local villagers through tourism through joint construction and sharing. At the same time, during the construction of the scenic area project, priority has been given to nearby residents and households in need of employment, which has led to a total of about 2000 temporary employment personnel.

Guifengshan Village is located in the core area of Guifengshan Scenic Area, with unique geographical advantages. In recent years, relying on tourism in scenic areas, villagers have started farming activities, established tea cooperatives, and transformed abandoned tea gardens into beautiful sightseeing gardens; Build a boutique homestay village that integrates with mountains, forests, and tea gardens; Opening up a peach forest mulberry picking garden... All farmers in the village have a tourist meal.

Promote the revitalization of rural areas in the Dabie Mountains through comprehensive tourism. The Dabie Mountain Company has also launched a mutual recognition of annual cards and a comprehensive tourism card for all scenic spots in Macheng City, driving overall tourism consumption.

Create a new benchmark for the integration of transportation and tourism

Hubei Communications Investment Group is known as the main player in the investment and construction of the province's comprehensive transport infrastructure. Dabie Mountain Company is the main force in its regional development sector, mainly engaged in the development of highway land allocation resources in the Dabie Mountain area. By "building a highway, developing a region, and serving the local economy," it fills the industrial gap in regional development and improves the quality of urban functions.

It is reported that Hubei Communications Investment Group, which is pursuing the integration of transportation and tourism, has invested over 510 million yuan in recent years to build the Guifengshan branch line, as well as over 500 million yuan for infrastructure construction and quality upgrading of the Guifengshan scenic area. In recent years, Dabie Mountain Company has adhered to a market-oriented approach, with tourists as the center, and the focus on "enterprise land cooperation and industrial empowerment". Through advanced layout and in-depth planning, it has innovated a new model of integrated development of transportation and tourism.

Build the Macheng Guifengshan Branch Expressway of the Shanghai Chengdu Expressway, create a fast passage into and out of the Guifengshan Scenic Area, and build a comprehensive transportation and tourism network of "fast in and slow out". At the same time, it also drives local economic development, optimizes the road network layout within the Macheng City area, promotes regional cooperation between towns along the line, and promotes leapfrog development of the local economy.

Looking ahead to the new year, Dabie Mountain Company will anchor the development strategy of Hubei Communications Investment Group to build a world-class enterprise, with the group's "Thousand Thousand" goal and "Three Year Double Increase Plan" as the starting point, take responsibility and strive to advance, and achieve "one region adds color, all regions add glory" in regional development.