Dezhou Revitalizes Cultural Heritage Through Immersive Experiences and Integration

With 140 lifting screens as brushes and 700 tons of circulating water as ink, the panoramic immersive epic drama "Along the Great River" has brought the history of the Yellow River to life, becoming a new highlight of cultural tourism in Dezhou, Shandong Province. In recent years, Dezhou has focused on the two cultural roots of the Yellow River and the Grand Canal, dug deep into its humanistic heritage, and seen fruitful practices in cultural innovation and development across the city.

In an ancient-style building along the Grand Canal, primary school students put on VR glasses and, guided by virtual digital humans, take virtual cruise boats to visit cultural landmarks, marveling at the prosperous past of the Grand Canal. This is the "Two Rivers Rising Tide" VR Full-Sense Immersive Digital Culture Experience Hall in the Canal Ancient Street of Decheng District. Since its opening at the end of last year, such exclamations have been heard almost every day.

To make cultural relics speak and history tangible, Dezhou has explored Yellow River culture, Grand Canal culture, Dongzi culture and filial piety culture, integrating VR full-sense technology to create a cultural journey that is "touchable in history, observable in reality, perceptible in thought and resonant in emotion". Citizens act as "civilization guardians", experiencing magnificent historical scenes such as Dayu dredging the river and the Oath of the Peach Garden; walking along the Canal, they can imagine the thousands of sails passing by and the numerous virtuous people emerging.

So far, the experience hall has received more than 20,000 visitors, 60% of whom are children from study tour groups. Digital technology has revived the historical map: Qihe County uses immersive stage plays and light-water shows "The Soul of the Winding Yellow River" to interpret the vicissitudes and grandeur of the Yellow River culture; Tianqu New Area has launched the digital immersive experience "The Legend of Tang Dynasty: Westward Journey", combining Canal legends with contemporary national trends.

Following the "One Corridor and Six Areas" layout, Dezhou has promoted the implementation of 18 key cultural industry projects, injecting strong momentum into the sustained and healthy development of the cultural tourism market. On the stage, the thousand-year flow of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is integrated into the graceful skills of the acrobatic drama "Landscape National Trend"; "Dreaming of the Past and Present - Diabolo" presents new rhythms and won a silver medal at an international circus festival, bringing dusty history to life through modern expressions.

In communities, "4:30 PM Classes" tell integrity stories; beside family-style mottos on enterprise walls are employees' personal insights into practice. In Dezhou, grand values have been transformed into the warmth of neighborhood mutual assistance, integrity signs at storefronts and the busy figures of volunteers, with kindness and virtue gradually becoming a natural social trend.

Dezhou has solved the problem of activating dormant cultural resources through integration, allowing cultural spirit to enter daily life and generate tangible benefits, successfully exploring a path of "differentiated development and characteristic promotion". In Leling, a film and television city has been built; when night falls, Tang Dynasty-style streets interweave with light and shadow, and intangible cultural heritage iron flower performances stand alongside national trend electronic music, giving tourists in Tang costumes a sense of time travel.

Since its opening during the May Day holiday in 2025, the film and television city has driven more than 900,000 visitors to the scenic area and surrounding business districts. In Qihe, projects such as the Spring City Oulebao Polar Ocean World have been completed, and the Yellow River International Ecological City Tourism Resort has ushered in a tourism peak. The New Youth Music Festival attracted 60,000 fans in two days, directly driving consumption of 180 million yuan.

The Dezhou section of the Grand Canal has been transformed into a marathon track and fishing park, with sports events becoming a mobile cultural tourism card. Commercial complexes empower business with culture and activate culture through scenes, and "commercial district tourism" promotes the common growth and integration of culture, business, life and consumption.