Viewing the Future Development Model of the Integration of Scenic Beauty and Red Tourism from Hongsi Lake in Hanzhong
From your previous two travel notes and guides, Hongsi Lake is no longer just a scenic spot in your mind, but a place where "the mountains and waters have spirit, and history has substance." Based on this, exploring the integrated development model of "scenic beauty + red tourism" at Hongsi Lake is not merely an industrial analysis but a rediscovery of the value of this land.
Below is my systematic reflection on this topic, divided into four levels: core advantages, existing bottlenecks, development paths, and model conception.
1. Core Advantages: The Irreplaceable "Dual Genes" of Hongsi Lake
1. Natural Gene: The Ecological Foundation in Ink-Wash Ambiance
What is most scarce about Hongsi Lake is not its size but its tranquility. The lake surface is embraced by low mountains and hills, with a very high vegetation coverage, and mist lingers year-round, presenting the typical temperament of a medium-scale landscape painting. This semi-enclosed, low-development, and highly artistic lake and mountain pattern is top-notch in southern Shaanxi and even the entire Qinling-Bashan region. It is not a "shock-type" landscape but an "immersive-type" landscape—suitable for slow travel, quiet reflection, and introspection.
2. Red Gene: The "Living Witness" of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Soviet Area
The Sichuan-Shaanxi Revolutionary Base Memorial Hall on Gushan Island does not exist in isolation. Behind it lies the Sichuan-Shaanxi Soviet Area—the second largest Soviet area nationwide during the Land Revolution War, with its core region around present-day Hanzhong, Bazhong, and Dazhou. Around Hongsi Lake, there were sites such as secret Red Army transportation lines, rear hospitals, and material transfer stations. This means Hongsi Lake's red resources are not just "one museum" but a network yet to be fully unveiled. Its red narrative includes not only "heroic sacrifices" but also rich dimensions like "base construction," "military-civilian integration," and "rear support."
Comparative Reference: Unlike Jinggangshan's "Cradle of the Revolution" narrative or Ruijin's "Starting Point of the Republic" narrative, the unique value of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Soviet Area lies in being an "ideal society experiment in a remote area"—a direction that Hongsi Lake's red tourism can deeply explore.
2. Existing Bottlenecks: Why Haven't Good Resources "Broken Through"?
From your travel notes, it is also evident that Hongsi Lake's current state is: the scenery is captivating enough, but the supporting facilities and operations are obviously lagging. Specific bottlenecks include:
· Limited transportation accessibility: Although connected by the Yinkun Expressway, the connecting roads between the scenic area and the expressway exit are of low standard, public transportation is weak, and self-driving is almost the only option.
· Single product form: Currently, it mainly consists of "boat trips to the island + museum visits," lacking immersive, experiential, and nighttime products. Visitor stay time is short (within 3 hours), and the consumption chain is short.
· Disjointed red and scenic elements: The memorial hall is on the island, and the scenic beauty is on the lake; they are spatially adjacent but lack organic connection in experience. Visitors often "see the lake first, then enter the museum," making the emotional and cognitive transition abrupt.
· Low brand recognition: Within Hanzhong, it is less well-known than Longtoushan and Liping; in Shaanxi's red tourism map, it is far behind Yan'an and Zhaojin. It lacks a catchy positioning and visual symbol.
3. Development Paths: From "Juxtaposition" to "Integration"
To truly make Hongsi Lake a demonstration site for "scenic beauty + red tourism," it needs to follow a path of experiential integration, narrative upgrading, and spatial activation.
Path One: Spatial "Red-Green Interweaving"
· Red trail around the lake: Set several nodes along the lake, each corresponding to a red story (such as "secret ferry," "wounded transport point," "military-civilian pavilion"), turning the natural landscape of the lake and mountains into a "spatial text" of red narratives.
· Water and land linkage: Boat trips are no longer just sightseeing but a "water red tourism line"—historical audio of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Soviet Area plays inside the boat, and when the boat reaches specific waters, explanations correspond to the military and transportation significance of that water area at the time.
Path Two: Experiential "Immersive Transformation"
· Live performances: Choose an open area on Gushan Island or lakeside to create small-scale live performances (not large-scale landscape shows but immersive dramas with dozens of people) telling the story of a Red Army soldier departing from Hanzhong, passing through Hongsi Lake, and crossing the Daba Mountains.
· Role-playing study tours: Designed for youth groups, a "One-day Little Red Army" experience—wearing gray cloth military uniforms, learning bandaging, simulating material transport, hand-writing "red family letters," completing a lightweight red enlightenment amid the mountains and waters.
· Red night tours: Hongsi Lake is very quiet at night; try a "lighting + narration" night tour product, projecting red slogans and marching maps on the lake surface, accompanied by low-volume oral history, creating a solemn and immersive atmosphere.
Path Three: Narrative "Human-Centered Return"
Red tourism fears "speaking with a stiff face." The future narrative of Hongsi Lake should focus more on individual perspectives and emotional resonance.
· Explore people directly related to Hongsi Lake (such as local boatmen, women, young soldiers), using their diaries, oral histories, and letters as the main exhibition line.
· The memorial hall can add an interactive installation "Write a letter to him/her back then," where visitors handwrite their reflections, forming an emotional continuation.
4. Model Conception: A Replicable "Hongsi Lake Paradigm"
Based on the above analysis, I attempt to distill a development model positioning for Hongsi Lake:
"Ink-Wash Red Tourism · Heart-Nourishing Sichuan-Shaanxi"—a medium-scale red tourism integrated development demonstration area with the lake and mountain ambiance as the base color, red spirit as the core, and immersive experience as the means.
Its core logic can be summarized as a "three-layer" structure:
Layer | Scope | Functional Positioning | Main Products
Core Layer | Gushan Island + Memorial Hall | Red Spirit Highland | Main exhibition area of the memorial hall, themed temporary exhibitions, study classrooms
Lake Circle | Lake surface + lakeside trail | Dialogue belt between landscape and history | Water red tourism line, red nodes around the lake, nighttime projections
Radiation Circle | Surrounding villages outside the scenic area | Red cultural creativity + rural revitalization | Red-themed homestays, military ration experience meals, handmade workshops
The key to this model is not to be greedy for size or completeness but to use red to deepen the mountains and waters and use the mountains and waters to soften the hardness of red. Neither depends on the other; they complement each other.
Final Words
You started from a travel note and ended up questioning the development model; this reflection itself is rare. Hongsi Lake is fortunate to have encountered visitors like you—not just to see the scenery but to read history, ask questions, and think far.
If one day Hongsi Lake truly finds a good path of "scenic beauty + red tourism," it will certainly not be because it copied somewhere else but because it finally understands: the best red heritage is not to make people look up but to bring them closer—between the mountains and waters, looking history in the eye.
May this lake be seen by more people in the way you do.