Qiantang Zhizhai Offers Free Admission, but Visitors Scan IDs and Leave Right Away – Why?

Besides being the only epitaph museum in the country, Qiantang Zhizhai has a major draw for nearby visitors: it charges no admission fee.

We visited the Qiantang Zhizhai Museum on a weekday, when there were few people. Chatting with some tourists, we learned that the landscapes in Xin'an County are quite well-known in Henan, such as the 5A-level Longtan Grand Canyon and the 4A-level Qingyao Mountain. In comparison, fewer people know about Qiantang Zhizhai. Many are unaware that such a 4A-rated attraction is hidden in this little-known town.

In fact, hundreds of thousands of people visit Qiantang Zhizhai Museum each year, but most leave immediately after their visit—without leaving a trace. Online discussions about it are also scarce, suggesting a slight disconnect between the scenic spot and its visitors.

A major reason for this is the gap between tourists and the museum. After all, most visitors are not calligraphy experts, and it's normal that they have only a partial understanding of the collection. Since tourists don't know much about the museum, the scenic area should take the initiative, making its services more precise and efficient.

As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated." To bridge the distance with tourists, it's essential to have comprehensive information about the consumer group—including basic personal details like occupation, age, gender, location, and personality, as well as their needs and preferences—so that tourism products and services can be optimized and innovated accordingly.

Relying solely on scanning IDs for entry is far from enough. Smart and digital tools should be employed, along with more popular communication channels. By keeping up with technological trends and tourists' travel needs, the attraction can increasingly become a part of ordinary people's lives. WeChat public accounts are a common smart scenic service today, with low cost and simple operation.

If Qiantang Zhizhai makes good use of a WeChat public account—expanding its services to include electronic maps, smart audio guides, intelligent navigation, digital explanations, smart shopping, etc.—and encourages every visitor to follow it, over time a huge IP surrounding Qiantang Zhizhai will emerge on the mobile internet. The museum could then leverage its own traffic platform to accomplish many things.

Take the Forbidden City, which has many loyal fans. Although the Palace Museum was established in 1925, the Forbidden City architecture itself is nearly 600 years old. Before smart guides were widely available to visitors, the Forbidden City seemed mysterious and distant, creating a sense of separation from the ancients.

Through the development and use of apps and WeChat mini-programs, the Palace Museum has helped more visitors learn to appreciate, understand, and cherish beauty, and has also provided a resounding name card for China to showcase its treasures to foreign friends.

Now, the government plays the role of an LP in the development of Qiantang Zhizhai Museum. With no worries about support, Qiantang Zhizhai should focus on improving its own products, better preserving traditional Chinese culture, and allowing more visitors to experience the charm of Tang Dynasty stone inscriptions.