1. Introduction

Under the current background of cultural and tourism integration, the Chinese government has strongly supported the promotion of cultural heritage and tourism innovation. It has set the goal of "prosperous industry, livable ecology, and civilized rural customs". At present, the traditional tourism industry has serious problems, such as homogeneity and a low economic benefit conversion rate. The cultural sector also faces the dilemma of a limited dissemination range and a lack of market appeal. Combining culture and tourism, on the one hand, has opened up new channels for cultural dissemination and exchange; on the other hand, it has made tourism have more consumption hotspots worth exploring, thus realizing the creative transformation of culture [1]. Under the new situation, cultural and tourism integration is no longer limited to traditional tourist places. The countryside is gradually transforming into an emerging tourist destination. In addition, a series of relevant policies issued around it have also provided strong support for cultural resources to empower the high-quality development of the rural economy. At present, if China's rural areas want to achieve sustainable and high-quality development, they can no longer be limited to traditional single agriculture. They must try to realize the development model of "culture and tourism + rural areas", that is, to learn "agriculture, culture and tourism integration" with local culture as the core and tourism as the carrier. In this context, rural tourism is undergoing a transformation and structural upgrade, driven by both market demand and technological innovation, as well as national policies and strategic guidance. Consequently, how traditional Chinese villages integrate culture and tourism and achieve sustainable development is becoming increasingly important, and their economic impact is growing deeper and broader. This article uses Qingyang Village in Jiangshan City as an example, emphasizing its model of cultural and tourism integration as a hybrid of intangible cultural heritage revitalization and digital empowerment. This article will discuss how the village's unique cultural resources can be leveraged as "soft power" to revitalize the rural cultural and tourism industry. By leveraging emerging technologies, it aims to achieve online and offline integration, thereby reviving the local economy and providing a model for cultural and tourism integration.

2. Current status of integration

Qingyang Village, located in Shimen Town, Jiangshan City, Zhejiang Province, is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with a forest coverage rate of 78%. It boasts a rich history and cultural heritage. The village houses the "Qingyang Mao Family Genealogy," compiled in the sixth year of the Yuanfeng reign of the Northern Song Dynasty. The National Archives of China has designated it as one of the first 48 national treasures. It documents the glorious history of the Mao family, which produced eight ministers and 83 Jinshi scholars, forming a unique cultural symbol. The village boasts the Mao Clan Ancestral Hall, which dates back over 1,600 years, and 37 ancient buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties, five of which are provincial cultural relics. In recent years, the local government has promoted tourism brands such as "The Birthplace of the Mao Clan in Jiangnan," continuously raising the local community's profile. The village is located in the heart of the Jianglang Mountain-Nine Eight Capital National 5A Scenic Area, just 25 kilometers from Jiangshan City. In addition, the policy of cultural and tourism integration has also attracted some young people to return to the village to start businesses, which has also promoted the industrialization of intangible cultural heritage skills to a certain extent. For example, several Mao's characteristic industrial cultural brands, such as Qingtian Coffee, Mao's Family Banquet, Mao's Wine Shop, as well as academies and chili workshops, have been created. The local area has used digital technology to develop the "Qingyang Village Smart Tourism Platform" to form an online platform with rich functions. However, in this process, there have been many problems, such as the limitation of the depth of cultural resource IP mining, the loss of cultural authenticity and excessive commercialization, the shortcomings of service capabilities and infrastructure, and the inability to achieve a balance between ecological and economic development. The current development status of Qingyang Village shows that the key to rural cultural and tourism integration lies in decoding the cultural core, transforming resource value, and rebuilding the benefit distribution mechanism. The problems that arise in the process are the common dilemmas during the transformation of rural cultural and tourism integration in the general environment. It is necessary to break the homogeneity dilemma through the above-mentioned multiple strategies, realize the improvement and transformation from "traffic attraction" to "value creation", and ultimately achieve the sustainable development of rural cultural and tourism integration. Rural revitalization is an essential way for China's rural revitalization. Industrial integration is an inevitable trend of rural revitalization. The integrated development of agriculture, culture, and tourism is conducive to promoting the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas [2]. In recent years, Qingyang Village has held a series of unique cultural and tourism festivals around local cultural characteristics such as Mao’s culture and family traditions, covering a variety of fields such as cultural and sports activities, art performances, folk festivals, research and study activities, and music competitions. In May 2023, the Qingyang Food Festival was held, with 16 unique traditional food stalls and 12 intangible cultural heritage handmade experiences set up on site, attracting more than 5,000 tourists within 3 days [3]. Qingyang Village has created new tourism and co-enrichment formats such as the "Just GAO" rice cake workshop and the Mao Family Sauce Workshop, combining traditional production techniques with leisure tourism. Tourists can participate in handmade production or repurchase products online, which not only promotes the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage but also drives the integration and development of the rural cultural and tourism economy. The integration of culture and tourism in traditional villages is a dynamic process of continuously promoting comprehensive revitalization by deepening resource integration, promoting product cultivation, and strengthening industrial functions [4]. The local future village officially opened in November 2022, launching the Mao-themed shared prosperity industry experience space, including eight new business formats, and revitalizing the local economy through the new model of "farmers planting + operators purchasing + village collective dividends".

3. Main problems

3.1. Limitations in cultural IP transformation

The integration of local intangible cultural heritage resources and tourism is still at the level of simple superposition. For example, the Mao Family Style Museum's exhibition is still mainly based on historical objects and documents, and lacks immersive interactive design; new formats such as rice cake workshops provide production services, but have not yet achieved a complete and coherent cultural chain. When tourists come to the village, daily tourism is still mainly sightseeing, which will lead to increasing pressure from homogeneous competition. In the surrounding area of Qingyang Village, there are places such as the Mao Family Courtyard in Jishui, Jiangxi, which also develops intangible cultural heritage experiences with the theme of Mao family culture, resulting in the diversion of target tourists. In addition, the design of related festival activities also tends to converge with the surrounding rural tourism areas and lacks obvious signs.

3.2. Insufficient innovation of business models

In the context of the strategy of all-round tourism and rural revitalization, it is imperative to develop scenic spots and villages to coexist synergistically [5]. The core goal of rural revitalization is to improve the economic, social, cultural, and ecological environment in rural areas and improve the quality of life of residents [6]. However, in the transformation of local core classics, some traditional ancient buildings and houses have been implanted with new business formats such as coffee and homestays. Although the appearance is still simple, the interior has become very modern, which has caused the loss of traditional living scenes and reduced cultural authenticity. For example, the exterior of the newly opened Qingtian Coffee still has the antique wooden doors and windows. Still, when tourists enter the store, they can find that the interior is completely commercialized and modernized.

3.3. Poor application of emerging digital technologies

The development of digital cultural tourism in rural areas is one of the key forces driving rural revitalization [7]. Although the development and innovation of NFT and metaverse scenes are very novel, there is a fundamental contradiction between the target group of this technology and the target customer group of Qingyang Village. For example, the VR project "Cloud Qingyang" launched by the local area has minimal appeal to young people and fails to translate into actual travel plans.

3.4. Limited ecological carrying capacity

Successful geographical brand development requires the selection of typical cultural resources in the region [8]. Although Qingyang Village currently forms a 5A scenic area cluster with Jianglang Mountain and Erbadu, it lacks a deep integration of products with the other two scenic areas. For example, some local hiking routes are limited to the village itself and lack further expansion, resulting in a preponderance of day-trippers. This leads to high customer overlap and a relatively limited consumption landscape. Furthermore, as the number of local tourists continues to grow, the village's ecological environment continues to deteriorate. Although the local government is implementing comprehensive environmental and ecological improvements through sewage interception and pipelining, the increased waste generation has been ineffective. The bamboo forest hike has also seen vegetation degradation due to excessive trampling, increasing the cost of ecological protection.

3.5. Difficulties in sustainable operation

The cooperative model used by the village collective and the operating company can lead to conflicts during market downturns or intense competition. If revenue does not meet expectations, the village's collective income will be significantly affected. Furthermore, although the local cultural tourism industry has attracted hundreds of people to return to their hometown for employment, the villagers often play a service-oriented role, with limited involvement in core aspects such as cultural product innovation and decision-making. For example, the product innovation and research and development of Maojia Sauce Shop are undertaken by cooperative companies. The villagers are still engaged in agricultural work of growing raw materials and lack a say in the development and trends of products.

3.6. Limited carrying capacity of infrastructure supply

The construction of homestays can also extend the consumption chain of tourists. As a deep reflection of the integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism, rural homestays are not only a link for the flow of urban and rural elements, but also a key carrier for the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy [9]. The ratio of high-end homestays to budget accommodation in the village is seriously unbalanced, resulting in tourists facing a lack of available rooms or excessive premiums during the peak tourist season. In addition, the total number of local guest rooms is only 200, which makes it challenging to meet the needs of the deep integration of culture and tourism. In the process of cultural and tourism integration, there will inevitably be study tour groups and family trips, and the local area cannot provide high-quality services and a sufficient and comfortable accommodation environment. In addition, the village infrastructure, such as the number of parking lots, is scarce, and traffic jams and road congestion often occur during holidays, affecting tourists' willingness to visit and their experience.

4. Suggestions and solutions

4.1. Dig deeply into “Mao’s culture” and innovate experience scenarios

Dig deeply into distinctive cultural resources and help rural industries revitalize and innovate [10]. With Mao’s family tradition as the core, create immersive study tours and other tourism products. Introduce interactive technologies such as AR to restore Mao’s historical scenes, and set up a series of “Mao’s Family Tradition” level-breaking games to enhance interactivity. Implement a differentiated brand cultivation strategy and reshape the cultural tourism product matrix based on regional cultural genes. Create a unique IP for Qingyang Village and deeply explore the uniqueness of Qingyang Mao’s culture. For example, people can each piece of rice cake, and package it with local historical stories to create a clear difference from the Mao Family Courtyard in Jishui, Jiangxi, and enhance the attractiveness of the tourist destination.

4.2. Maintain cultural authenticity and avoid excessive commercialization

To preserve the cultural roots of Qingyang Village, the local government needs to discuss with the villagers to establish a bottom line for the development of traditional historical buildings. New businesses, such as coffee shops and bakeries, need to retain a certain percentage of conventional elements or incorporate a certain amount of intangible cultural heritage elements to avoid losing cultural purity. In addition, a "cultural cooperative" can be established within the village to hold regular monthly creative meetings for villagers, giving them more decision-making power and voice in the actual decision-making process. Most importantly, the benefit distribution system can be improved. In addition to providing rent-free or dividend-sharing services, specific culture-related awards can be established to reduce the volatility of the tourism market and protect the villagers' income level.

4.3. Improving infrastructure gaps and optimizing tourist supply

Local villagers and the government can collaborate with cultural and tourism enterprises to attract investment in the construction of demountable container homestays. These can serve as guest rooms for tourists during peak tourist season and as public spaces or agricultural product storage during off-season. Furthermore, the village needs to strengthen its innovative service system, establish a shared parking system, integrate idle land and parking spaces from surrounding villages, and develop a "shared parking" app. Furthermore, these measures will require upgrading the innovative platform's functionality, adding real-time feedback, and gradually expanding AR tour scenarios to cover the entire village.

4.4. Promote regional coordinated development and achieve deep integration

Qingyang Village could collaborate with Jianglang Mountain and Nianbadu to launch a 3-day, 2-night package tour, encompassing an exploration of the Danxia landforms of Jianglang Mountain, a tour of the Nianbadu dialect, and an experience of Qingyang's intangible cultural heritage. These packages could offer discounted prices to increase tourists' spending and time at the destination. Furthermore, they could jointly promote the Jiangshan 5A-level tourist attraction brand and enhance the city's brand influence.

4.5. Village-enterprise cooperation: cultural tourism development benefits the village and the people

The village can sign a contract with a third-party auditing firm to dynamically adjust the income distribution ratio between the Qingyang Village collective and the operating company based on actual revenue. Higher tourism product sales will increase the village collective's share, and vice versa. This can mitigate income risks. Regarding the dividend distribution during the cultural and tourism integration process, the local government could introduce a new incentive mechanism, such as a points-based reward system linked to the sales of cultural and tourism products. Villagers who rank in the top 10% of the annual points list would receive a share of the income. This can encourage villagers to actively participate in the village's cultural and tourism integration development.

4.6. Coordinated development of ecology and cultural tourism, empowering public participation with technology

Local authorities can deploy an IoT monitoring network system, installing sensors and soil testers along the Wenchuan Creek to transmit real-time data to an innovative platform. When visitor volume exceeds the local natural carrying capacity, staggered tourism can be implemented. Furthermore, a "Protect My Qingyang" campaign can be launched. Environmentally friendly behaviors like picking up trash can earn Qingyang Green Points, which can be redeemed for local specialty rice cakes or discounts on purchases, encouraging visitors to protect the environment consciously. The local government can also select and commend "Ecological Role Models" among village residents on a monthly basis.

5. Conclusion

In summary, Qingyang Village has made considerable progress in integrating culture and tourism. Through the development of its intangible cultural heritage, it has encouraged villagers to return to their hometowns for employment. It has been incorporated into the 5A scenic area and has incorporated digital technology into its development, developing distinctive business formats. Annual visitor numbers have steadily increased, exceeding 400,000. However, deep-rooted structural problems remain, including insufficient cultural IP transfer, severe homogeneous competition, excessive commercialization, a lack of villagers' voice, an imbalance in infrastructure supply, and an ecological capacity limit being reached. Through this analysis, Qingyang Village's development provides an important example for the integrated development of culture and tourism in rural areas. Through a "villager + village collective" model, it has achieved a balance between increased economic income and sustainable development of cultural and ecological heritage, exploring a path to integrate emerging digital technologies with traditional culture. In its future development, Qingyang Village needs to address four shortcomings if it hopes to overcome its developmental difficulties: the imbalance between cultural resources and practical experiences, the imbalance between preserving cultural authenticity and excessive commercialization, the imbalance between operational mechanisms and tourism resource integration, and the imbalance between destination infrastructure and digital technology and innovative services. In the future, Qingyang Village needs to address the four significant imbalances and the challenge of converting "one-day tours" by deeply exploring cultural IP, improving the model between village enterprises and villagers, leveraging emerging digital technologies, and building a regional cultural and tourism synergy mechanism. Ultimately, this will provide both theoretical and practical support for the transformation of rural cultural and tourism integration from "attracting traffic" to "co-creation of the economy."