1. Introduction to the Project

1.1 Project background

1.1.1 Product introduction

The Goguryeo regime has left a large number of world-class cultural treasures in Ji’an as its capital for 425 years. In July, 2004, Wandu Mountain City and Guonei City were included in the The World Heritage List. In January, 2020, the Goguryeo Cultural Relics and Historical Sites Tourist Scenic Area in Ji’an City (including Wandu Mountain City and Guonei City) was rated as a national 5A level tourist attraction. In order to better showcase, develop, and utilize Goguryeo cultural tourism resources such as royal tombs, royal cities, and mountain cities, and revitalize the ruins, Ji’an City has developed a new system of “tourism+culture+transportation” that conforms to the characteristics of Goguryeo cultural tourism in Ji’an City, based on the overall concept of “one river, three cities”, fully combining project benefits, cultural creation, historical reproduction, and current popular cultural tourism models. The construction project of Goguryeo cultural tourism corridor is planned with high standards and high standing points.

1.1.2 Market prospect

(1) Analysis of China’s tourism market

According to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the number of domestic tourists in China has steadily increased year by year since 2010, reaching 6.006 billion in 2019, with an average annual compound growth rate of 12.4%. However, with the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the number of domestic tourists will decline significantly from 2020 to 2022. In 2022, the number of domestic tourists reached 2.53 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 22.06% and a decrease of 57.9% compared to 2019.

2023 is a year of strong recovery for the tourism industry, as the suppressed demand for travel for three years is released and tourism gradually becomes a way of life for people, sparking a new wave of national travel. According to the Statistical Bulletin on National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China in 2023 released by the National Bureau of Statistics, there were 4.89 billion domestic trips in 2023, an increase of 93.3% over the previous year. Among them, urban residents traveled domestically 3.76 billion times, an increase of 94.9%; rural residents traveled domestically 1.13 billion times, an increase of 88.5%. 82.03 million inbound tourists, including 13.78 million foreigners and 68.24 million compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. There were 100.96 million domestic residents who left the country, including 96.84 million for personal reasons and 77.04 million for travel to Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan.

Figure 1 Domestic Tourist Arrivals and Growth in China from 2016 to 2023

In 2023, the domestic tourism revenue (total travel expenses) reached 4.91 trillion yuan, an increase of 2.87 trillion yuan from the previous year, a year-on-year growth of 140.69%, a significant increase, reversing the sluggish situation since 2020. At the same time, compared with 2019 before the pandemic, the domestic tourism revenue in 2023 has recovered to 85.69% of the same period in 2019, significantly narrowing the gap and demonstrating the vitality and potential of domestic tourism consumption. In 2023, the total travel expenses of domestic tourists in China were 4178.1 billion yuan for urban residents, an increase of 147.5%; rural residents spent 735.3 billion yuan on travel, an increase of 106.4%. The total cost of inbound tourists was 53 billion US dollars.

Figure 2 Domestic Tourism Revenue and Growth in China from 2016 to 2023

The development of the cultural and tourism industry is an important part of the construction of national cultural confidence. In recent years, it has received attention from the country and policies such as the 14th Five-Year Plan for Cultural Development and the 14th Five-Year Plan for Tourism Development have been successively issued to promote the integration of culture and tourism, increase the supply of cultural and tourism products, and improve the quality of cultural and tourism products.

In recent years, people have been pursuing more innovative and proactive tourism products, and the simple leisure and sightseeing activities of mountain and water travel have gradually been replaced by diversified tourism methods and projects. New models such as urban strolls, health tourism, ecotourism, industrial tourism, and cultural tourism are gradually developing and growing.

According to the domestic tourism data in 2024 released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, based on the results of a sample survey of domestic tourism, the number of domestic tourists in 2024 was 5.615 billion, an increase of 724 million from the same period last year and a year-on-year growth of 14.8%. among them, the number of domestic trips by urban residents reached 4.37 billion, a year-on-year increase of 16.3%; the number of domestic trips by rural residents reached 1.245 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9.9%.

(2) Development status of the cultural tourism industry in Ji’an City

Goguryeo (37 BC -668 AD) was a national regime in the northeastern region and the Korean Peninsula, collectively known as the Three Kingdoms period of Korea along with Baekje and Silla. The special geographical location of Goguryeo gives it an important position in history and culture. Its relics are not only important research objects for archaeology, but also important windows for understanding ancient Northeast Asian cultures.

Ji’an City is located in the southeast of Jilin Province and is one of the three major port cities for North Korea in China. This place has a good ecological environment and is known as the “City in the South of the Yangtze River of Northeast China”. In June, 2004, at the 28th World Heritage Conference held in Suzhou, the Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Goguryeo Kingdom in Ji’an City was included in the World Cultural Heritage List. It is the 30th world heritage in China, the first and only world cultural heritage in Northeast China. It is mainly composed of 42 heritages, including 3 king cities, 12 royal tombs, 26 noble tombs, the Great Prince Tablet and No.1 Tomb of General, etc. After the successful application for World Heritage, the Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Goguryeo Kingdom is not only the valuable heritage of Ji’an, but also the valuable heritage of people all over China and the world.

The Goguryeo Cultural Relics and Historical Sites Tourist Scenic Area was established in 1983. It is a world cultural heritage site, a national key cultural relic protection unit, a national 5A level tourist attraction, and one of the first national archaeological site parks. The Goguryeo Cultural Relics and Historical Sites Tourist Scenic Area includes attractions such as the Ji’an City Museum, the Haotaiwang Stele, the General’s Tomb, and Wandu Mountain City, with a total area of 857679 square meters. The scenic area records the political, economic, military, cultural, architectural and other social life of Goguryeo from multiple perspectives and levels in a unique way. It is the center of Goguryeo historical research and exhibition with the most concentrated distribution, rich content and distinctive features of Goguryeo relics in the world. The rich historical relics and unique cultural charm of Goguryeo have attracted a large number of tourists. During the National Day period of 2024, the reception of tourists in Goguryeo cultural relics and historic sites tourist attractions increased by 11.4% year-on-year.

Ji’an has a long history and a rich cultural heritage. In 2023, the city received a total of 3 million tourists and achieved a comprehensive tourism revenue of 5.1 billion yuan, an increase of 792.9% and 6275% respectively compared to 2004. During the National Day holiday in 2024, Ji’an City received a total of 646000 tourists, exceeding the reception volume for the Mid Autumn Festival and National Day holidays in 2023.

In recent years, with the continuous expansion of the influence of Goguryeo cultural relics and historical sites tourist attractions, Ji’an City has actively carried out civilized tourism service activities, created a civilized Ji’an brand image, practiced the concept of civilized tourism services, and actively created a strong atmosphere for civilized tourism. Ji’an has become the preferred destination for more and more domestic and foreign tourists. According to the China’s Treasure Town Tourism Report 2024 released by the Leisure and Vacation Branch of the United China Tourism Association, Ji’an City was listed as one of the top 50 popular tourist counties in the first half of 2024.

The domestic city of Goguryeo, the King Haotai Monument, the King Changshou Mausoleum, and Wandu Mountain City have excellent geographical locations and tourism resources. The construction of a tourism corridor around the scenic area will further enhance its accessibility, improve the supporting services for visitors, increase the core attraction of the scenic area, deepen the infrastructure construction of the Goguryeo Cultural Tourism City in Ji’an City, improve the service facilities of the 5A level scenic area, and broaden the market prospect of the project construction.

1.1.3 Advantageous conditions of project construction

(1) Policy advantages

In September, 2021, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued the 14th Five-Year Plan for Cultural and Tourism Development, proposing to adhere to the principle of shaping tourism through culture and promoting culture through tourism, promote the deep integration and innovative development of culture and tourism, and continuously consolidate the good situation of advantages overlapping and win-win for both parties. By relying on cultural relics resources to cultivate tourism products and enhance tourism taste, people can appreciate the beauty of nature, appreciate the beauty of culture, and cultivate the beauty of the soul, creating a unique and charming Chinese cultural tourism experience.

In July, 2024, the Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Promoting Chinese Path to Modernization adopted by the 3^rd Session of the 20^th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed to focus on building a socialist cultural power and make a comprehensive deployment for deepening the reform of cultural systems and mechanisms.

At the end of 2024, the Central Economic Work Conference proposed to innovate diversified consumption scenarios, expand service consumption, and promote the development of cultural tourism industry.

In October, 2023, Jilin Provincial Party Committee of and Jilin Provincial People’s Government issued the Action Plan for the Trillion-level Tourism in Jilin Province (2023-2025), which stated that by 2025, the total tourism revenue will have reached 720 billion yuan, and the number of domestic and foreign tourists will have reached 400 million, with an average annual growth rate of over 20%. The average annual growth rates of inbound tourism revenue and the number of inbound tourists received have reached over 190% and 90%, respectively; overnight tourists account for over 42%. Strive to achieve the trillion level tourism industry goal within 5 years. Form a cluster of border tourism industries such as enriching the people, promoting border tourism, famous villages, towns, and cities, with a scale of 50 billion yuan.

In March, 2023, the National Development and Reform Commission agreed to establish a demonstration zone for industrial transfer in southwestern Jilin, focusing on enhancing industrial transfer capacity, optimizing business environment, deepening open cooperation, effectively undertaking domestic and foreign industrial transfer, promoting industrial transformation and upgrading in the process of undertaking, and striving to build the demonstration zone into a characteristic manufacturing base in Northeast China, a green and low-carbon transformation pilot zone, a new highland for regional cooperation and development, and an important agricultural and special product processing base in the country. The demonstration zone covers three cities: Siping, Liaoyuan, and Tonghua.

(2) Resource advantages

Ji’an has a long history. It was once the ancient capital of Goguryeo, with rich historical and cultural relics, such as the the Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Goguryeo Kingdom. Ji’an is also a world cultural heritage site and a famous historical and cultural city in China, known as the “City in the south of the Yangtze River of Northeast China”. It has a pleasant climate and beautiful scenery. The main attractions in Ji’an include Wunvfeng National Forest Park, Yalu River Scenic Area, Yunfeng Lake Scenic Area, and Haotaiwang Stele. In addition, Ji’an has been rated as a national health city, national garden city, and national ecological civilization construction demonstration city and county, etc.

(3) Industrial advantages

Guided by the overall spatial layout of “one core, one belt, and one ring”, Ji’an City is accelerating the construction of a new pattern of high-quality development of the cultural and tourism industry of “one river, three cities, and ten products”, integrating and utilizing advantageous tourism resources, and making every effort to promote the development and construction of border tourism. By now, various types of border tourism products have been developed, including cultural, red, sightseeing, boat tours, wine tasting, folk customs, flower appreciation, etc., including Goguryeo Cultural Relics and Historic Sites Scenic Area (5A level scenic area), Yalu River Gate, Yunfeng Lake, Yangyushi Drifting, Yajiang Valley Winery, Yaluo Winery, Guodong Big Cave, Laobiekang Wetland Park, Dougu Li Palace and other scenic areas, as well as characteristic villages such as Xiajiefang Village in Chengdong Street, Huolong Village in Maxian Township, Digou Village in Yulin Town, Yongquan Village in Liangshui Township, etc. Different themed tourism routes have been launched, including the World Heritage Cultural Tour, Border Scenery Tour, Health and Ecological Tour, Rural Revitalization Tour, Red Study Tour, and Cross border Tour to North Korea. The Yalu River tourism pattern integrates cultural relics, border customs, red learning, and ecological scenery.  

(4) Location advantages

Ji’an City is located in the southeast of Jilin Province and the south of Tonghua City, at the southwest foot of Changbai Mountain, adjacent to 5 districts and counties, with a total area of 3341 square kilometers. The urban area of Ji’an City is 103 kilometers away from the highway of Tonghua City, 422 kilometers away from the highway of the provincial capital Changchun City, and 260 kilometers away from the highway of Dadonggang in Liaoning Province.

Ji’an City is located in the core area of the Yalu River International Economic Cooperation Belt, facing Manpo, Chasong, Chosan, and Wiwon of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea across the river, with a border line of 203.5 kilometers. Ji’an Port is one of the three major ports for China’s trade with North Korea and the only port city in Tonghua City. The China-North Korea international trains travel between the two countries every day and it is an important gateway for Jilin Province to open up to the south.

There are two dedicated railways in Ji’an City, international and domestic railways. The Ji’an Railway runs through the north and south, providing direct access to Beijing, Changchun, Qingdao, Dalian and other places. The cross-border railway connects with Manpo in North Korea and reaches the hinterland of the Korean Peninsula. The domestic railway is mainly the Tonghua-Ji’an section of the Meihekou-Ji’an Line, with a length of 46 kilometers. It is a major transportation artery that crosses the southeast of Tonghua City, Tonghua County, and Ji’an City, and is also an important railway transportation line in Northeast China; the international route from Ji’an to Manpo in North Korea, with a length of 8 kilometers, is one of the important routes for China to North Korea.

(5) Talent advantages

At present, Tonghua City has 3 national key secondary vocational schools, 3 provincial key secondary vocational schools, and all county-level vocational education centers have passed the provincial key school acceptance and entered the top 100 schools in the province. It is the first region in the province where all county-level vocational education centers have entered the provincial key school list. In recent years, through scientific layout, continuous promotion of vocational education structure adjustment and resource integration, exploration of new paths for diversified education, continuous improvement of modern vocational education network system construction, the local characteristics of vocational education have begun to form, and the ability to serve economic and social development has gradually improved.

Tonghua Municipal Government has signed technology strategic cooperation agreements with research units of provincial universities such as Northeast Normal University, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun Institute of Chemical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Tonghua Normal University, providing technological support for the development of enterprises. Tonghua City continues to provide assistance to enterprises in talent cultivation and other aspects, vigorously implementing the “Ten Thousand Students Revitalizing Enterprises Plan and Thousand Students Returning Home Plan, and continuously attracting college graduates for enterprises.

1.2 Contents and scale of project construction

The construction content of the project is divided into three parts.

(1) King Haotai Stele and King Changshou Mausoleum Scenic Area Revitalization and Upgrading Project

Based on the actual situation in the region, the project will open up a circular corridor for visitors to the Goguryeo historical scenic area after completion, enhance the tourism environment in the region, and showcase Goguryeo culture in a three-dimensional manner.

(2) Goguryeo Guonei City Site Utilization and Enhancement Project

Upgrade and build the Ji’an Morning Market and Site Park around the ancient city walls of the east, west, south, and north, with the city wall ruins as the “core”, implant internet famous must-visit facilities, and create a comprehensive Goguryeo urban cultural experience tourism destination that integrates “fireworks atmosphere” and “cultural flavor”.

(3) Wandu Mountain City Tourism Development Cultural Enhancement Project

The project will empower and upgrade the culture of Wandu Mountain City scenic area, further enhance its accessibility, improve the supporting services for visiting the scenic area, and increase its core attractiveness. It plans to add cultural and tourism nodes such as photo taking, leisure experiences, cultural sculptures, and service stations, and upgrade them into a Goguryeo cultural complex that integrates culture, leisure, ecology, and landscape.

1.3 Total investment of the project and capital raising

1.3.1 Total investment of the project

The total investment of the project is 1.57 billion yuan, including the construction investment of 1.5 billion yuan and current funds 70 million yuan.

1.3.2 Capital raising

Self-raising by the enterprise。

1.4 Financial analysis and social evaluation

1.4.1 Main financial indexes

After the project reaches the production capacity, its annual revenue income will be 600 million yuan, its profit will be 250 million yuan, its investment payback period will be 9.3 years (after the tax, including the construction period of 3 years) and its return on investment will be 15.9%.

Note: “10 thousand yuan” in the table is in RMB.

1.4.2 Social evaluation

The world cultural heritage is an important heritage with cultural, historical, and natural value, and is a common wealth of humanity. Tourists can learn about the stories and meanings behind them through tourism, thus inheriting and promoting these cultural and historical heritages. The world cultural heritage has important tourism values, attracting a large number of tourists and funds, and will also drive the development of regional B&B and catering, promote the development of tourism, and increase employment opportunities and economic income.

1.5 Cooperative way

Sole proprietorship or joint venture

1.6 What to be invested by the foreign party

Funds and others

1.7 Construction site of the project

Goguryeo Scenic Area and surrounding villages in Ji’an City, Tonghua City

1.8 Progress of the project

The project proposal has been prepared.

2. Introduction to the Partner

2.1 Basic information

Name: Ji’an Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism

Address: 3001 Yajiang Road, Ji’an City

2.2 Overview of the Partner

Located in the southeast of Jilin Province, Ji’an City covers an area of 3341 square kilometers. It has jurisdiction over 1 provincial economic development zone, 11 towns, 4 streets, 127 administrative villages, a total registered residence population of 202547, 25 ethnic groups including Han, Korean, Manchu and Hui. It is a world cultural heritage site, a famous historical and cultural city in China, a national ecological demonstration area, an excellent tourist city in China, a national leisure agriculture and rural tourism demonstration county, a hometown of Chinese calligraphy, a national garden city, and one of the top ten frontier cities in China. The GDP grew by 5.6% year-on-year in 2023.

Ji’an has four major business cards: firstly, it is a world heritage ancient capital. Ji’an has a long history and rich cultural heritage. The Goguryeo ethnic group, which existed for 705 years during the Han and Tang Dynasties, thrived and established its capital in Ji’an for 425 years, passing down 19 generations of kings and leaving behind a large number of cultural relics and historical sites. So far, more than 10000 ancient sites and ancient tombs have been found in Ji’an. the Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Goguryeo Kingdom have been included in the World Cultural Heritage List. Ji’an is the 30th world cultural heritage site in China. The second is the hometown of national ginseng. Ji’an has been one of the main production areas of ginseng, known as the “King of Herbs” since ancient times. Ginseng has a history of over 1700 years of application and nearly 500 years of artificial cultivation. Ji’an ginseng is superior in quality, beautiful in shape and high in saponin content. It is known as the top grade of ginseng, with an annual output of about 4000 tons of fresh ginseng. The “Xinkaihe” brand is the first well-known trademark in China’s ginseng industry, and the “Ji’an Qinghe wild ginseng” is a national geographical indication protection product. The quality of ginseng represents the highest level of Changbai Mountain ginseng, which is the world’s highest quality ginseng production area and the largest underforest ginseng base. The third is a border town. Ji’an is located in the core area of the Yalu River International Economic Cooperation Belt, facing Manpo, Chasong, Chosan, and Wiwon of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea across the river. The border line is 203.5 kilometers long, and the domestic port authorities are complete. International trains between China and North Korea travel between the two countries every day, making it an important window for Jilin Province to open up to the south. The fourth is a place of health and prosperity. The forest coverage rate has reached 82.19%, and the proportion of days with excellent air quality has exceeded 90%. The favorable ecological environment and climate conditions have nurtured high-quality characteristic resources such as ginseng, mountain grapes, Schisandra chinensis, bee products, edible fungi, etc., which are well-known throughout the country. It is the largest mountain grape production area in the country and an important raw material and production base for health food and health products.

2.3 Contact method

2.3.1 Contact method of the partner

Contact unit: Ji’an Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism

Contact person: Wang Boyuan

Tel: +86-435-6658159  

   +86-13843574088

2.3.2 Contact method of the city (prefecture) where the project is located

Contact unit: Tonghua Bureau of Commerce

Contact person: Wang Liangchen

Tel: +86-435-3199017  

   +86-18643036783

E-mail: thsswjtck@126.com