Since the launch of its transformation plan in 2001, Wuzhen has received over 120 million visits in total and grown its total assets to more than 8.4 billion ($1.2 billion) yuan.

Remarkably, while nearly every other ancient town within 100 kilometers offers free admission, Wuzhen still charges 150 yuan. When people ask why, Chen gives a blunt answer: “We are a branded tourist destination.”

He describes Wuzhen’s journey in three steps: from a sightseeing town into a resort, and then into a cultural icon.

In the sightseeing phase before social media, he brought the prestigious Mao Dun Literature Prize to Wuzhen and set up an independent booth at ITB Berlin, one of the world’s largest travel trade shows. In the resort phase, he focused on overnight stays, with uniformly designed guesthouses and transparent pricing. “The brand is word-of-mouth,” he says.

In the cultural phase, Chen spent 15 years building three major assets: the Wuzhen Theatre Festival, now recognised as a world-class theater carnival; the Mu Xin Art Museum, a waterside pavilion housing the works of one of modern China’s most beloved yet long-overlooked artists; and a permanent venue for the World Internet Conference.

“Small bridges and flowing water are common to all. Only culture makes you di­­­f­­ferent,” he notes. In Kaifeng, a city in China’s Henan province, the Qin­g­­ming Riverside Landscape Garden has fol­­­­lowed a similar path over three decades. The theme park is based on a 12th-century painting that vividly depicts daily life in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) capital.

Zhou Xudong, the park’s founding general manager, shares his formula: “Produ­­ct accounts for 60pc, marketing and service for 40pc. If your product has no con­­­­tent, no matter how good your marketing is, it will be short-lived.”

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2026