Wuhan: The 2025 China Culture and Tourism Industries Expo opened recently in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, drawing participation from over 2,000 domestic exhibitors and 50 overseas travel agencies. The event aims to spotlight the dynamic nature of China's cultural and tourism sectors.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the expo features a comprehensive 40,000-square-meter outdoor area that includes a cultural and tourism IP parade of floats. Additionally, a 60,000-square-meter indoor exhibition hall is dedicated to showcasing new business models, scenarios, and products in the cultural and tourism industries. This includes digital clusters, low-altitude tourism, and products related to intangible cultural heritage.

A notable highlight of the expo is the integration of high technology with cultural tourism. Robots at the event are tasked with providing various services, from venue introductions to catering, and also participate as musicians and dancers. The expo also hosts five renowned Chinese museums, including the National Museum of China and the Palace Museum, displaying over 400 popular cultural and creative products.

Gao Zheng, the vice minister of culture and tourism, remarked in his opening speech that in the first half of the year, 80,000 large-scale cultural and related industry enterprises in China generated an operating income of 7.13 trillion yuan (approximately 1 trillion U.S. dollars), marking a 7.4 percent increase compared to the previous year. Furthermore, Chinese residents made more than 3.28 billion trips, spending 3.15 trillion yuan, which represents increases of 20.6 percent and 15.2 percent respectively. These figures underscore the robust vitality and promising prospects of China's cultural and tourism industries, according to Gao.

The three-day expo is hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and organized by the Hubei provincial department of culture and tourism alongside the Wuhan municipal government.