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The Hunan Culture and Tourism Department announced May Day Holiday arrangements, including travel routes recommendations, and cultural and tourist events. Nearly 600 cultural and tourism activities will be held by Hunan’s culture and tourism authorities, scenic areas, and resorts.
During the four-day holiday, 38 performances will be staged, including Xiang opera, flower-drum opera, Peking opera, puppet shows, music performances, concerts, drama, Hanchu opera, songs and dances, and sketches. Thirty-two performances, 84% of the total, will be either free or at reduced cost to the public.
Six will be commercial performances, with preferential tickets offered for one performance. The performances include: world-class Broadway acappella musical comedy, and a 2019 public concert, at the Changsha Concert Hall; and, the comic drama “Feiji Bei Bu Bei (菲机背不背).
During the holiday, 139 public libraries, 159 museums and memorial halls, and 143 public art and cultural centers will open free to the public as usual. The Hunan Library, the Hunan Library of Juveniles and Children, the Hunan Cultural Center, and the Hunan Museum will hold cultural activities.
Intangible cultural heritage activities in various forms will be organized around the province. Changsha Tanci (storytelling), and shadow puppet shows will be staged at Macrolink Tongguan Kiln Ancient Town in Wangcheng District. The Changsha Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Hall will launch various crowd participation activities, such as riddle guessing, paper cutting, fruit pit carving, grass linen weaving, and Jiang family traditional “bonesetting” which is a form of traditional Chinese medicine similar to chiropractic medicine. Jinzhou Avenue Intangible Cultural Heritage Corridor in Ningxiang will organize intangible cultural heritage shows. The Emperor Yan Mausoleum in Zhuzhou will have Emperor Yan worship tunes, and themed dramas. Xiangxiang City will organize a Yutang stilts show at the Mingming Middle School. Loudi, and Lianyuan will stage folk opera shows and intangible cultural heritage exhibitions.
A total of 72 travel routes are recommended, including:
One-day trip in Shaoshan and Huaminglou;
Three-day trip in Zhangjiajie;
One-day trip in Tongguan Kiln Ancient Town;
One-day trip in Shiniu Village and Monkey Valley in Pingjiang;
Two-day trip in Taohuayuan;
One-day trip in Tanhe Ancient Town in Ningxiang;
Two-day trip in Langshan Mountain;
Routes for study tours and rural tourism.
There are ten recommended routes for driving tours:
Sightseeing tour in Yueyang;
Folk customs and landscape appreciation tour in Xiangxi;
Natural landscape appreciation tour in south Hunan;
Folk custom tour in Huaihua;
Local cuisine and culture tours in central and south Hunan;
Revolutionary history tours;
Natural landscape tour in Loudi;
Ancient town tour in Xiangxi;
Lake and river enjoyment tours.
More than 80 scenic areas will provide free or reduced-price tickets for visitors during this holiday. The Orange Isle fireworks show will be staged at 20:30 on May 1. The Miyin Temple on Weishan Mountain in Ningxiang and other 41 scenic areas in Changsha, Zhuzhou, and Xiangtan, provide free admission at their main entrances. The Hunan Botanical Garden, and Daweishan National Forest Park will lower admission prices for entrance and sightseeing shuttles. Free or lower-cost admission will also be provided in Hengyang’s 6 scenic spots, including Mount Hengshan; Yueyang’s 6 scenic spots, including Yueyang Tower; Changde’s 3 spots, including Taohuayuan Scenic Area; Shaoyang’s 2 spots, including Langshan Mountain; Yongzhou’s 16 spots, including Shunhuang Mountian; Huanhua’s 6 spots, including Gaoyi.
Scenic spots in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture jointly promoted a month-long activity themed “We are Falling in Love with Hunan in May”. From May 1 to the 20th, Furong Town-Red Carbonate-Rock Stone Forest Tourist Resort will launch a series of activities to celebrate International Labor Day on May 1, Mother’s Day on May 12, and Love Confession Day on May 20.
In May, Changde’s Taohuayuan Scenic Spot will promote activities, themed “Singing Around Taohuayuan” music festival; Taohuayuan tours; traditional wedding custom experience; traditional handcrafts making; and, Mother’s Day celebrations.
Translators: Xiao Juan;Pang Yuehui
