By Zhang Xuefei and Liu Zihang

On the evening of April 22, Zhitou Hometown Garden in Xiangzhou District, Xiangyang, Hubei Province, was bustling with diners, filled with the hustle and bustle of everyday life. This area, which had been an overgrown, idle lot just over a year ago, has undergone a remarkable transformation from a “vacant land” to a “valuable asset” after attracting investment and receiving tens of millions of yuan in redevelopment. It has now become a well-known hub for the night-time economy in Xiangzhou District’s urban area.

Such changes are quietly taking place across Xiangzhou District. From urban areas to rural villages, from shopping centers and supermarkets to old streets, once underutilized spaces are being revitalized, giving rise to vibrant new consumption scenarios.

By late 2025, Xiangyang had been selected as a national pilot city for the “Three New” consumption model — new business forms, new business models, and new consumption scenarios. Seizing this opportunity, Xiangzhou District has revitalized and upgraded its existing assets in line with local conditions, deepened the integration of “culture and tourism + commerce,” and built a new framework for promoting consumption. By creating diversified consumption scenarios and fostering new growth drivers, the district is transforming consumption potential into development momentum — forging a path that is people-centered, results-driven, and distinctly its own.

Old Spaces Transformed into New Consumption Scenarios

“In the past, we would leave right after shopping. Now the experience is completely different. The store offers more functions, and the staff provides professional and attentive service. Even grocery shopping feels fresh,” said Mr. Fang, a resident who was shopping at Yonghui Superstores in Minfa Century Plaza on the afternoon of April 22.

This sense of “freshness” stems from Xiangzhou District’s strong push to upgrade traditional retail formats. The district has guided Minfa Century Plaza to add dedicated sections for cultural and creative IP (Intellectual Property‌) products, and supported Yonghui Superstores in benchmarking against the “Pangdonglai” business model, introducing AI (Artificial Intelligence)-powered interaction, VR (Virtual Reality) experiences, and other new consumption formats. This has driven its transformation into a “shopping and experience” destination, significantly enhancing both service quality and customer appeal.

Beyond traditional shopping malls, scenic open spaces, disused factories, and historic blocks are also being reimagined as new consumption venues through creative planning.

At the Lumen Mountain Scenic Area, the “Qixi Featured Courtyard” project draws on the site’s natural surroundings to recreate the everyday life of the 1960s and 1970s. It also features a tea therapy lifestyle center and the “Deer Song” Outdoor Campsite, weaving together nostalgic experiences, leisure activities, and wellness pursuits. According to Project Director You Shujun, the courtyard integrates diverse spatial design with thoughtful business planning to cater to mainstream leisure preferences, establishing a new model that combines “interactive experiences, immersive healing, and nostalgic relaxation.”

A former industrial complex has been reinvented as the Railway 1984 Cultural and Creative Park. Within the park, the Xiangyuyao Hotel stages nightly martial arts-themed performances on schedule. Dining is no longer just about satisfying hunger — it has become a fully immersive experience. “Elements of chivalry and ‘The Legend of the Condor Heroes’ are woven into every performance, and the program changes daily, keeping customers constantly engaged,” said Hotel Manager Cheng Jiantao.

Loong Street blends intangible cultural heritage with contemporary trends to create a youth-oriented leisure and consumption district. Xing Street and Xiwan Time Memory Food Street have both been comprehensively upgraded, welcoming new consumption formats such as offline second-hand trading. Xihe Banquet Center fuses Chinese and Western aesthetics across eight themed banquet halls — including “Magnificent Chang’an” and “Beloved Castle” — elevating traditional wedding services into immersive, experiential celebrations.

By preserving familiar memories while attracting new visitors, Xiangzhou District has upgraded traditional retail spaces, revitalized old factories, historic streets, and idle land, and breathed new life into existing spaces through creative scenario reconstruction — all to stimulate and sustain consumption.

New Rural Areas Fostering New Business Forms

Cities have their prosperity; the countryside has its own quiet poetry.

Xiangzhou District has innovated an integrated “culture and tourism + commerce” model. Building on the achievements of rural revitalization, it has guided towns to cultivate new business forms, using tourism to drive consumption. Rural landscapes are becoming sought-after leisure destinations, while residents find new ways to increase their income close to home.

In Xiangwan Village of Huanglong Town, an idle farmhouse has been transformed through light renovation into a cultural exchange hub bridging urban and rural residents. It integrates a rural café, a bookstore, cultural and creative workshops, and a specialty agricultural products shop — making it an ideal retreat for those seeking a brief escape from city life.

“The café sells about 80 cups a day, and up to 150 on weekends. Combined with agricultural product sales, average daily revenue comes to around 4,000 yuan,” said Manager Lang Huichen. In 2025, the site welcomed nearly 100,000 visitors and generated over 1.4 million yuan in revenue.

At an agricultural innovation park in Yinzhang Village of Huopai Town, 35 greenhouses cultivate more than 20 varieties of specialty fruits and vegetables, meeting year-round picking demand from visitors. Leisure activities, including live performances, barbecue, camping, and a specialty café, round out the experience.

According to Park Director Cheng Gang, since opening in September last year, the park’s revenue has grown steadily. The park has not only created employment for nearby farmers but also showcased the untapped potential of rural consumption.

In Jinzhai Pastoral Complex in Yushan Town, ecological agriculture and leisure tourism are seamlessly integrated, allowing visitors to enjoy pastoral scenery while experiencing intangible cultural heritage. In Cherry Blossom Valley in Songshupo Village, Longwang Town, a seasonal floral landscape has blossomed into a year-round destination, with camping, hiking, and photography drawing visitors long after the flowers fade.

This month, Xiangzhou District launched three themed rural tourism routes — “Red, Green, and Blue” — linking diverse rural consumption sites into cohesive itineraries. This marks a shift from isolated attractions to coordinated, district-wide engagement, further energizing rural consumption.

From revitalizing natural landscapes to mining distinctive local resources, from enriching experiential offerings to connecting curated routes, Xiangzhou District’s ecological strengths are being rapidly converted into consumption advantages — nurturing the growth of diverse new rural business forms.

A New Framework Fueling New Consumption Momentum

With appealing consumption scenarios and thriving new business forms in place, a new consumption framework provides further momentum.

To ensure that residents benefit while spending, Xiangzhou District draws crowds through events and incentivizes consumption through practical rewards, establishing a regular mechanism in which “each season carries a theme and each month features signature activities.”

In recent years, international auto expos, large-scale merchandise exhibitions, and shopping festivals have been held in succession across the district, each drawing enthusiastic crowds.

Focusing on the automobile market, the district has developed a “10-kilometer automobile sales corridor,” introducing flagship stores of new energy vehicle brands such as Tesla, FANGCHENGBAO, and Leapmotor, steadily strengthening the “first-store economy.”

Signature events such as “LEXGO,” “EverSincerity Group’s Night,” and the “DFAC Culture Festival” run throughout the year. Scenic areas, hotels, shopping centers, automobile dealerships, and gas stations collaborate across sectors, distributing consumption vouchers and discount coupons. By linking automobile consumption with all-area tourism, these initiatives both energize the market and deliver tangible benefits to residents.

Concurrently, more than 100 merchants have been organized to participate in a provincial home appliance trade-in program, allowing old appliances to be exchanged for cash discounts while new appliances are offered at preferential prices. A total of 365 offline merchants — spanning supermarkets, department stores, home appliances, home furnishings, and apparel — have signed “worry-free consumption” pledges, committing to “seven-day no-reason returns” and ensuring residents enjoy convenient, efficient after-sales services, making every purchase more reassuring and stress-free.

This year, Xiangzhou District is planning to connect a series of ecological and cultural sites — including Haoran Square Park, the Xiaoqing River Scenic Belt, and Laoxiwan Riverside Park. Combined with night-tour development at the Lumen Mountain Scenic Area, the initiative will enrich the night-time economy through dining, shopping, sightseeing, and entertainment, turning Xiangzhou District’s evenings into a new frontier of consumption opportunity.