Reviving old spaces for new tourism

At Zhugangding in Kuliang, the day unfolds in different shades of the same mountain view. In the morning, visitors can watch the sun rise over the sea from the site that sits atop Kuliang, a mountain retreat perched in the hills east of Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province.

Clouds drift above the hills while the city stretches out below, with the river visible to the west. As the light softens, the mountain becomes an ideal place to watch the sunset. After dark, campers turn their eyes upward to the stars.

It is a full-day experience that would have been difficult to imagine on the same patch of land a few years ago.

Zhugangding, once overgrown and underused, has been transformed into a mountain-top camping and leisure site through ecological restoration. Launched in April 2025 and opened the following month, the project focused on restoring the landscape while making light improvements.

"It used to be that most visitors came for a day and then left. We wanted to turn that into overnight tourism," says Wang Ke, assistant general manager of Fuzhou Kuliang Protection and Development Co.

For more than a century, Kuliang, about 20 kilometers from downtown Fuzhou, has been associated with escaping the city's summer heat. It once housed Western diplomats, missionaries, doctors, and educators. They began coming up the mountain generations ago to seek cooler temperatures. The retreat also became a distinctive meeting point between local life and overseas communities, leaving behind historical buildings and stories of cultural exchange.

The cool climate remains a major draw. But today's visitors increasingly have more in mind.

Camping under the stars, watching a sunset, picking fruit, joining a nighttime performance, or browsing a cultural and creative market are becoming part of broader tourism offerings. The result is a mountain-top recreational space that Wang says can accommodate more than 2,000 people at a time.

Six stargazing cabins are currently available, with additional facilities planned. Visitors can bring their own camping equipment or use the site's facilities, and spend time taking in the surrounding landscape.

The location also fills a gap in Kuliang's tourism calendar, as fewer activities were available at the mountain retreat to keep people around.

A stage has now been installed at Zhugangding for performances, singing and other activities that are helping build a nighttime economy. Visitors can also buy coffee and other refreshments, enjoy barbecue, and take part in leisure activities.

A relatively low entrance fee is combined with vouchers that can be used toward some on-site consumption, creating an incentive for visitors to spend beyond the ticket itself, Wang explains.