2024 Dialogue with the District Party Secretary | Chongming has a total of 1,118 registered homestays. How to avoid homogenized competition?
Changxing Island is the closest of the three islands in Chongming to downtown Shanghai. With the opening of the Yangtze River Tunnel and the improvement of the marine industrial chain, the immense potential of Changxing Island is being continuously unleashed. As this world-class “Marine Equipment Island” is being developed, what is the momentum of its growth? Chongming District has registered a total of 1,118 homestays; how can it boost the tourism and homestay industry?
Recently, several organizations, including Shanghai’s major research institutions, The Paper, and Shanghai People’s Broadcasting Station, launched a series of multimedia interviews titled “2024 Dialogue with District Party Secretaries.” During the program, Chongming District Party Secretary Miao Jing discussed how to promote the development of the marine equipment industry and the planning of related industries in Chongming.
Miao Jing stated, “Chongming can contribute to the national construction of a maritime power, and we feel this opportunity is very rare!” He emphasized that Changxing Island has gathered a large number of high-quality, skilled talents, and retaining these talents to ensure they can live and develop comfortably in Chongming is a crucial issue that must be addressed.
In response to questions from Shanghai’s major research institutions and The Paper regarding how to revitalize Chongming’s tourism and homestay industry, Miao Jing mentioned that Chongming has already advanced the “Rural Homestay Initiative,” establishing an online service system for the entire process of homestay approval, service, and supervision. In the future, they will optimize the top-level design of homestays, guiding them towards quality, clustering, branding, and differentiation, promoting the construction of homestay clusters, cultivating new cultural tourism experiences, and creating a series of “Accommodation+” products.
Nearly 100,000 skilled workers are employed on Changxing Island; how can better support be provided? Today, Shanghai’s Changxing Island is one of the six major hubs for the national shipbuilding and marine engineering industry. It is also the largest, most advanced, and most internationally competitive shipbuilding base in China, gathering large ship and marine equipment manufacturing enterprises such as Jiangnan Shipyard, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, Zhenhua Heavy Industries, and COSCO Shipping. Many national key projects and internationally leading marine engineering products are produced here.
On Changxing Island, the construction of LNG carriers, represented by Hudong-Zhonghua and Jiangnan Shipyard, has accelerated significantly. The positive trajectory of China’s shipbuilding industry is also attributed to nearly 20 years of hard work by the industrial workers on Changxing Island. In recent years, while promoting industrial development, Chongming has conducted research focusing on the pain points and difficulties faced by enterprises, striving to efficiently resolve their issues at every stage, allowing businesses to develop more effectively in Chongming. “We aim to operate in a way that minimizes interference and responds to all requests.”
As enterprises grow, Chongming is also working to further improve supply in line with their needs. Chongming District, in collaboration with the Changxing Island Management Committee, has conducted extensive research to enhance regional public service support, better adapting to the future development needs of the marine equipment industry. With the improvement of living standards, the demand among shipyard employees has shifted from “a bed” to “an apartment.” Many employees are of marriageable age, and there is a pressing need for housing as they settle down and start families on Changxing Island.
Miao Jing noted that there is a significant number of technical workers on the island, such as welders, painters, and rust removers, with nearly 100,000 in this group. During visits, many employees expressed to Miao Jing that “the development of the enterprise is stable, income is guaranteed, and future prospects are promising; we really want to stay on the island.” While retaining talent through career opportunities is encouraging, creating a conducive environment and providing quality services are equally important. For instance, addressing the needs of central enterprise employees in education, healthcare, and other livelihood areas to ensure families can live and develop securely on the island is a priority for Chongming moving forward. “Therefore, we are currently collaborating with Shanghai Jiao Tong University to promote the construction of the Jiao Tong University Affiliated Experimental School on Changxing Island, providing better educational services for employees’ families.”
Miao Jing has consistently focused on the support service needs of the marine equipment island. “After the marine equipment workers arrived on the island, they raised several requests regarding their living conditions, such as the inconvenience of shopping in the surrounding areas and the lack of recreational and entertainment facilities.” In response to these employee needs, Chongming has accelerated project construction this year and is re-planning the layout of living districts.
Recently, a new commercial complex called Sunshine World has opened on Changxing Island, designed to serve the entire marine equipment factory area. It officially opened at the end of November, providing better services for employees and industrial workers living on the island. Additionally, the supermarket in Sunshine World operates on a direct supply chain model, collaborating directly with manufacturers, which eliminates many intermediaries and offers very affordable prices. “The supermarket became the national sales champion just three days after opening, which was unexpected for everyone.”
Sunshine World is just part of the supporting services. Chongming will further promote the construction and improvement of supporting facilities to better serve the industrial workers and residents living on the island.
In the face of fierce competition in the cultural tourism sector, how can Chongming’s homestays achieve high-quality development? Currently, there are 1,118 registered homestays in Chongming District, with 90 of them rated at the municipal level. In terms of both industry scale and development standards, Chongming’s homestays are among the best in the city.
In recent years, the national cultural tourism market has become increasingly competitive. How can Chongming promote high-quality development in tourism and the homestay industry while avoiding homogenization? Miao Jing responded to Shanghai’s major research institutions and The Paper, stating that in light of the intensifying market competition, Chongming is considering how to enhance government service levels and effectively act as a “concierge” for homestay development. “In the future, we will focus on Chongming’s resource endowments, the leisure needs of suburban Shanghai, and national industrial development trends to continuously promote high-quality development of Chongming’s homestays.”
Regarding homestay development, Miao Jing mentioned that Chongming has undertaken extensive work and achieved some positive results. For example, they have advanced the “Rural Homestay Initiative,” establishing an online service system for the entire process of homestay approval, service, and supervision, effectively shortening the administrative process and creating a governance structure for coordinated development of homestays.
Moreover, Chongming aims to act as a “referee” by optimizing the top-level design of homestays. They have issued the “Implementation Opinions on Further Promoting High-Quality Development of Rural Homestays in Chongming,” guiding homestays towards quality, clustering, branding, and differentiation. The “Guidelines for Homestay Cluster Villages in Chongming District” have also been introduced to vigorously promote the construction of homestay clusters and enhance supporting facilities for homestay development. They encourage and support homestays in introducing new cultural tourism formats, cultivating new experiences, and creating a series of “Accommodation+” products.
In addition, Chongming actively supports the industry by providing service assistance, widely conducting training and talent development for the homestay industry, and enhancing the operational standards of homestay operators. Based on this foundation, they have focused on creating brand festival events such as the Chongming Flower Festival and the Chongming Rural Culture Festival, continuously strengthening cultural tourism promotion and marketing efforts, and actively developing digital marketing platforms. They strive to create more premium routes that combine homestays with scenic spots, cuisine, intangible cultural heritage, and quality products, ensuring that visitors to Chongming have a great experience and want to return.
In the future, Chongming will continue to leverage its resource endowments, cater to the leisure needs of suburban Shanghai, and align with national industrial development trends to promote the high-quality development of Chongming’s homestays.
