Tourists watch a fish-shaped lantern parade at Huizhou Ancient City in Huangshan, east China's Anhui Province, Oct. 2, 2025. (Photo by Shi Yalei/Xinhua)

　　HEFEI, June 11 (Xinhua) -- As dusk settles over Huizhou Ancient City in Huangshan, east China's Anhui Province, processions carrying fish-shaped lanterns wind their way through stone-paved streets.

　　Vendors at an intangible cultural heritage night market call out to passersby, while visitors sip tea and enjoy the scenery at nearby teahouses. The atmosphere seems to take tourists back to a townscape from a century ago.

　　The spectacle is part of a heritage-driven tourism development that has helped draw huge numbers of visitors to Shexian County, with a 2,200-year-old history and located at the foot of Mount Huangshan, a natural and cultural World Heritage site.

　　In 2025, the county received over 15 million visitors, with total tourism revenue exceeding 15.7 billion yuan (about 2.3 billion U.S. dollars), up 12 percent and 15 percent, respectively, local data showed.

　　Facing intense competition among tourist destinations across the Yangtze River Delta, Shexian County has pursued differentiated tourism development by focusing more on its rich cultural heritage, rather than relying solely on natural scenery.

　　"Only by better protecting cultural relics can we better develop cultural and tourism resources," said Jiang Wenchao, an official with the county culture, tourism and sport bureau.

　　Home to 22 major state-protected cultural heritage sites, five national historical and cultural villages and 167 traditional villages, the county has the largest number of traditional villages and immovable cultural relics among all county-level regions nationwide.