At around 5:00 PM on April 17, Li Yue, an office worker from Chengdu High-tech Zone, grabbed her backpack and took the subway directly to the high-speed rail station. At 6:35 PM, train C6317 departed on time from Chengdu East Station; a little over an hour later, Li Yue was already seated in a malatang restaurant on Zhanggongqiao Food Street in Leshan. In recent years, more and more people like Li Yue are "leaving work and heading straight to Leshan for the weekend." Data shows that in the first quarter of this year, Leshan City received over 20% more tourists compared to the same period last year, with overnight visitors accounting for nearly 70% of the total. The average spending per tourist was approximately 1,336 yuan. Why is this established tourist city, famous for attractions like the Leshan Giant Buddha and Mount Emei, transforming into a "micro-getaway destination"? What measures has Leshan implemented to develop its "weekend economy"?
The logic behind Leshan's strategy to retain visitors involves a combination of tactics aimed at turning "passing travelers" into "overnight guests" and shifting from "hotspots at scenic areas, cold spots in the city" to integrated development across the entire region.
The first hurdle for developing a "weekend economy" is distance. For urban office workers, if a large portion of a two-day weekend is spent on round-trip travel, the impulse for a spontaneous trip diminishes significantly. Leshan, however, is almost perfectly integrated into the "one-hour交通圈" of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic zone, giving it an opportunity to stand out on weekends – multiple major railway lines, including the Chengdu-Guiyang High-Speed Railway, the Chengdu-Mianyang-Leshan Intercity Railway, and the new Chengdu-Kunming line, converge in the Leshan area. Taking the high-speed rail from Chengdu, the fastest journey to Leshan takes just 41 minutes; from Mianyang via Chengdu, it's about 2 hours, and from central Chongqing via the Chongqing-Kunming and Chengdu-Guiyang high-speed rails, it takes less than 2 hours.
"After work on Friday, you can leave comfortably and be sitting on a street in Leshan enjoying skewers by 7 or 8 PM; returning on Sunday afternoon leaves time to get home, unpack, and prepare for the new work week," said Yu Jiang, Section Chief of the Basic Industries Department at the Leshan Development and Reform Commission. He explained that this "time calculation" behind the transportation network provides the fundamental condition for residents of surrounding cities to head directly to Leshan for the weekend.
To encourage more out-of-town tourists to make spontaneous trips, Leshan continues to optimize and strengthen its transportation advantages. Taking rail travel as an example, in early April this year, Sichuan's first primary and secondary school spring break coincided with the Qingming Festival holiday, leading to a new travel peak across the province after the Spring Festival travel rush. Liang Yao, Station Master of Leshan Station under the Emei Train Operation Segment of China Railway Chengdu Group, stated that to handle the surge in passenger flow from April 1st to 7th, Leshan Station operated over 120 train services daily on average, increasing short-distance intercity and long-distance cross-provincial services by more than 30. According to statistics from Leshan High-Speed Rail Station, on April 4th, the station handled a record-breaking single-day passenger volume exceeding 91,000人次.
Fruit picking tours have become a feature of Leshan's spring weekends.
As night fell on April 17th, Suji Ancient Town on the outskirts of Leshan transformed into a venue for traditional Chinese style shows, launching the weekend-limited "Night Tour of Suji: Scenes along the River" themed tour. The project integrates the scenery of the Emei River banks, intangible cultural heritage exhibitions and performances, supplemented by Song Dynasty-themed interactive performances.
Wang Jieyu, Director of the Suji Town Culture and Tourism Service Center, introduced that the weekend-limited "Night Tour of Suji" will continue until June, fully presenting Suji's码头 culture, intangible cultural heritage charm, culinary heritage, and leisurely lifestyle. This is one of Leshan's efforts to meticulously extend游玩 time and enrich the visitor experience.
"In the past, tourists often came to Leshan to 'see the Giant Buddha during the day and return to Chengdu at night,' resulting in a persistently low overnight stay rate," said Wang Yingnan, Party Committee Secretary of the Leshan Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau. Leshan has been focusing on "what to do in the evening" by continuously improving its nighttime economy system, laying the groundwork for the weekend economy.
In the Shizhong District of Leshan, four distinctive nighttime economic clusters have formed a pattern of differentiated development: Jiazhou Ancient City is creating a示范带 of vibrant night scenes, the Giant Buddha Scenic Area is building a gallery showcasing Buddhist culture and humanities, Zhugongxi is linking with commercial circles to create an urban nighttime leisure destination, and Suji Ancient Town is arranging events, performances, and folk markets to establish a new paradigm for ancient town nightlife. "We aim for nighttime consumption to account for over 55% of total daily consumption, and nighttime visitors to make up over 50% of total visitors," said a relevant official from the district's commerce bureau.
"My first stop after getting off the high-speed train is Zhanggongqiao for eating and strolling; it washes away a week's fatigue," Li Yue said, adding that this lively atmosphere is precisely why she loves weekend trips to Leshan.
Furthermore, during the "Spring Blossoms in Jiazhou" consumption season, Leshan simultaneously issued 5 million yuan worth of online and offline cultural tourism消费券, covering various sectors such as catering, accommodation, and general merchandise, to enhance its appeal for retaining visitors. Out-of-town tourists can claim these vouchers on a mini-program by presenting their high-speed rail tickets to Leshan.
Beyond "strolling" and "eating," how does Leshan attract repeat visitors? The city finds answers in "event+" and "performance+".
Recently, the 2026 Leshan Qianwei Jasmine Hometown Half Marathon commenced, with participants from outside the city accounting for a high 81.09%. The "Run the Ancient County, Sing for Qianwei" star concert held before the marathon also attracted many tourists beyond the participants. This model of "integrating events and performances for mutual empowerment" is being continuously staged in Leshan.
From April 10th to 12th, the World Karate Federation K1 Super League Leshan stop opened, with 329 top karate athletes from 59 countries and regions beginning three days of competition in Leshan. On April 18th, the sixth round of the final stage of the 2025/2026 Sichuan Provincial Urban Football League arrived as scheduled at the Leshan Olympic Center. The Leshan Flavor Team played at home against the Yibin Yangtze River First City Team.
At noon on April 18th, a cheering squad of over ten people led by Yibin fan Lin Tao settled into a跷脚牛肉 restaurant in Leshan. They originally planned to stay only one day but, upon learning about Leshan's rich nighttime tour options, decided to stay an extra night. "We plan to take the Night Tour of the Three Rivers," they said.
April 18th also marked the start of the two-week 2026 Mount Emei越野挑战赛, with over 8,100 participants from 15 countries and regions, driving approximately 20,000 people to Leshan.
Li Zhiqiang, Director of the Leshan Sports Bureau, stated that in 2026, Leshan will host 36 major sporting events, constructing a clear, tiered (international-national-provincial) and distinctive event matrix. Leveraging these events, Leshan is also adding value around "stub economy," using small ticket stubs to link the entire chain of "food, accommodation, transportation, tourism, shopping, and entertainment." During the "Chuanchao" league, fans holding season ticket stubs could enjoy exclusive discounts at over a hundred partner merchants via the "Xingjia Youxuan" mini-program. Within six months after the "Chuanchao" matches concluded, presenting a ticket stub along with a personal ID card also entitled holders to a 50% discount on admission tickets to all fee-charging A-level tourist attractions in Leshan.
Data shows that in the first quarter of 2026, catering revenue in Leshan increased by 9.8% year-on-year, and accommodation revenue grew by 12.8% year-on-year.