Recently, uponthe approval bythe State Council, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism officially released the Plan for Building China into a Nation Strong in Tourism During the 15th Five-Year Plan Period. Under the section on tourism cities and featuredtourist destinations, Yichang has been designated as one of the “Key Tourism Cities.”

　　The Plan calls for the active development of urban tourism, the strengthening of tourism and leisure cities and blocks, and the overall improvement of the urban tourism and leisure system. It also promotes the integrated development of tourism in city clusters such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Chengdu-Chongqing City Cluster, and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, with the goal of building high-quality tourist destinations. Key tourism cities and distinctive tourism destinations are encouraged to optimize their service offerings.

　　In recent years, with the Three Gorges Tourism Resort as its core cultural IP, Yichang has been committed to building itself into a world-renowned tourism city distinguished with profound cultural heritageand a globally recognized cultural tourism destination. In the first half of 2026, Yichang recorded a year-on-year increase of 12% in tourist arrivals and 13% in total tourism revenue. Inbound tourism showed particularly strong momentum, with international visitor numbers and foreign-exchange earnings rising by 20% and 21% year on year, respectively.