Wuhan launches tourism campaign to tempt back visitors following pandemic

‘Let’s meet in Wuhan,’ says new video

Wuhan, the Chinese city where the first Covid-19 case was recorded and where the coronavirus is thought to have originated, has launched a tourism campaign to tempt back visitors.

The city first recorded case of the virus was back in December last year.

Although it was initially the epicentre of the pandemic, the capital of central China’s Hubei province has not reported any cases via community transmission since May 2020.

Now the Wuhan Culture and Tourism Bureau has released a new video, entitled “Let's meet in Wuhan”, to attract holidaymakers.

The new video features sweeping shots of the surrounding landscape and the city’s iconic landmarks and architecture, alongside a healthy dose of culture, with shots of musicians and ballet dancers.

Nature features heavily, with couples and families filmed relaxing by the water, climbing stone steps surrounded by trees and camping atop a hillside.

One scene shows the cityscape lit up by night while fireworks explode in the background.

Although there’s no dialogue, one of songs that accompanies the footage has the lyrics, “How beautiful you are”.

“Wuhan is never stingy in presenting its beauty, and we, who love it, hope more people can understand,” the Tourism Bureau wrote on Weibo.

“[We] look forward to meeting you in Wuhan.”

The video shows tourists exploring Wuhan (Wuhan Culture and Tourism Bureau )

The city might not need much help when it comes to attracting tourists though, despite the bad PR.

According to a study published in April, Wuhan was named the top destination Chinese citizens wanted to visit when the pandemic was over.

Conducted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Tourism Research Center and Tencent Culture and Tourism Industry Research Center, the study was based on 15,163 questionnaires, big data from more than 20 million social media posts and comments on forums, and a dozen in-depth interviews.

Wuhan overtook Beijing as the number one domestic destination that Chinese travellers wanted to go to.