White Deer Plain Folk Village Facing Demolition; Song Weiping's Blue Mountain Group Takes Control
From the initial booming business upon opening to being taken over by real estate developers, this artificially created tourist resort based on Bai Luoyan (White Deer Plain) has only taken four years to decline.
In recent years, the construction of folk villages and rural tourism has experienced homogenization, resulting in the bitter consequences.
On March 9, 2020, an on-site visit to Bai Luoyan Folk Village in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province revealed that all shops and businesses within the village had closed and ceased operations, with some already undergoing demolition. (IC photo/)
In recent years, similar folk villages based on Bai Luoyan have flourished nationwide, now experiencing the consequences of homogenization. Because of the identical content, scarce tourists, and high costs, some artificially created tourist resorts are declining.
On March 7, 2020, Bai Luoyan Folk Culture Village in Shaanxi Province posted a notice announcing its phased demolition between March 12th and 31st.
Southern Weekend reporters learned from sources that due to the bleak business performance in recent years, the Blue Mountain Group, headed by real estate developer Song Weiping, reached a cooperation agreement with the Blue Mountain Group and Shaanxi Weishui Investment Company in January 2019, aiming to develop a cultural and tourism small town project based on Bai Luoyan Folk Village.
Public records show that Bai Luoyan Folk Village covers an area of 1265 acres, with a total investment of 350 million yuan, and opened in May 1, 2016. The village is located on the banks of the Baishui River in Ancun Town, Lantian County, Xi'an, and is part of the largest loess hill, Bai Luoyan, in the surrounding area of Xi'an. This area has a total area of 263 square kilometers and is the prototype of the story in writer Chen Zhongshi's novel, 'White Deer Plain.'
As one of the earliest artificially created tourist resorts in China based on 'White Deer Plain,' this resort was a boom initially. According to local media reports, on May 1, 2016, the first day of operation, it attracted 120,000 tourists in one day.
In 2017, the television series 'White Deer Plain' was broadcast, which could have been a good opportunity for Bai Luoyan Folk Village's development; however, the situation turned sharply in the following year.
In 2016-2017, similar Bai Luoyan-based tourist resorts, such as Bai Luoyan Film and Television City and Bai Lu Cang Scenic Area, were also opened. Competition among peers led to the decline of Bai Luoyan Folk Village. According to several local media reports, starting in 2017, the number of tourists to the village declined sharply; in September 2019, the village posted a notice of 'Renovation and Suspension of Operation,' and has not reopened since.
Lack of sightseeing projects and severe homogenization were the main reasons for the decline of Bai Luoyan Folk Village. A reporter from a Shaanxi media outlet who had previously visited Bai Luoyan Folk Village told Southern Weekend reporters that in 2017, when the business declined, the village organized a media tour to attract tourists through publicity. However, they walked through the entire village, except for various ancient buildings, the only experience was various Zhong cuisine. 'This has no attraction for local people, and for tourists from other places, these foods are readily available in any place in Shaanxi.'
Bai Luoyan Folk Village also planned to do something different. According to the introduction of the investor, Shaanxi Weishui Cultural Industry Investment Co., Ltd., Bai Luoyan Folk Village project was divided into four phases, and the original plan was to build a hotel and a museum, which were completed in 2020. But perhaps because it was only operated for one year before starting to decline, many plans were not implemented.
Southern Weekend reporters contacted the company based on business records, but the phone number listed has been disconnected.
In January 2019, the Blue Mountain Government and Blue Mountain Spring Wind Construction Group and Shaanxi Weishui Investment reached an agreement to develop a cultural and tourism small town project based on Bai Luoyan Folk Village. However, a Blue Mountain Group insider told Southern Weekend reporters that the initial agreement was a non-binding letter of intent, and it was waiting for the demolition to be completed before entering the substantive stage.
Regarding the post-demolition plan, Southern Weekend reporters contacted the Bai Luoyan Administration Office, but a staff member told reporters that the leader was in a meeting and did not accept interviews. The director of the Bai Luoyan Administration Office, Zhang Rujun, previously stated in an interview with Hua Shang Bao that the new planning and cooperation were still under study by the county, and would make cautious decisions and implementation 'It has already failed once, and it cannot fail again when it's reopened.'
From the initial booming business upon opening to being taken over by real estate developers, this artificially created tourist resort based on Bai Luoyan (White Deer Plain) has only taken four years to decline.
Previously, Shaanxi created the 'Yuan Jia Cun' (Yuan Family Village) success model. Located in Lequan County, this folk village once generated revenue of 100 million yuan in one year, and earned millions of yuan in sales of yogurt in one year.
Affected by this, many villages in Shaanxi started to copy 'Yuan Jia Cun,' and the government regarded it as a winning strategy for rural revitalization. In 2017, Xi'an City Government had a plan to invest 450 million yuan in three years to cultivate and support 30 characteristic tourist villages and 10 rural tourism leisure and experience complexes.
However, simply seeking to copy 'Yuan Jia Cun' has rarely yielded successful results.
In July 2019, the Central Economic Television Channel's 'Half-Hour Economic Watch' program reported on the failure of Bai Luoyan Folk Village. According to statistics, there are more than 60 similar folk villages in Shaanxi alone, and the Central Television reporter visited several folk villages in Shaanxi, and most of them were bleak and desolate.
