[Photo Via Official WeChat Account of Beijing Railway Station]

From September 24 to 27, the Beijing Major Railway Station Areas Administration is coordinating activities across "Eight Stations and Two Airports". Working with local cultural resources, the event will feature traditional cultural experiences including intangible cultural heritage handicraft workshops, folk music performances and interactive folk culture activities at railway stations. The event also leverages the "ticket-stub economy" to deepen the integration of culture, tourism, commerce, sports and exhibitions. Passengers holding train tickets to or from Beijing can enjoy discounts in various related sectors.

Discounts for Ticket Stub Holders on Performances, Dining and Tourism

During the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, Beijing Station, Beijing North Station, Beijing Fengtai Station and other station areas are rolling out "ticket-stub economy" initiatives to connect rail travel with urban consumption.

Beijing Station has partnered with Jixiang Grand Theatre to launch a cultural and tourism discount program. From September 25 to October 10, passengers with tickets departing from or arriving at Beijing Station can enjoy a 25 percent discount on shows at Jixiang Grand Theatre, covering Peking Opera, crosstalk, concerts and other performances.

The Beijing North Station office has partnered with CapitaMall Xizhimen. Passengers with digital or paper ticket stubs for high-speed or EMU trains dated within the previous seven days may redeem a digital package of discounts and offers for catering, retail and leisure experiences at the service desk on the mall's ground floor. Selected restaurants offer discounts starting at 25 percent off, while retail brands offer discounts of up to 32 percent. Xinfeng Lane, a commercial street next to the southern transport hub of Beijing Fengtai Station, is also offering special discounts and promotions. Passengers with train-ticket purchase vouchers from the past three days can enjoy discounts, spend-and-save offers and other promotions at more than 20 participating merchants through October 7.

The Qinghe Station and Beijing North Station offices, together with Yanqing District's Badaling Cultural Tourism Group, launch special offers for train ticket holders. Travellers holding digital tickets for journeys from Qinghe Station or Beijing North Station to Yanqing or Badaling Great Wall Station can enjoy several benefits: a 50 yuan discount on the Badaling Great Wall night tour, 50 percent off the large-scale live-action show Dream-like Great Wall, a 100 yuan discount on the Premium Badaling Great Wall Pass, and a 20 percent discount on high-end Great Wall VIP tours. The offers cover needs ranging from casual leisure to premium and customized cultural tourism experiences.

Experience Intangible Cultural Heritage and Folk Traditions at Transport Hubs

Ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the area south of the service counter at the west entrance on level B1 of Beijing Tongzhou Station has been turned into an Intangible Cultural Heritage Experience Space. From September 25 to 27, the three-day free event "Full-Moon over the Beijing Municipal Administrative Center (BMA): Welcome the Mid-Autumn Festival with Intangible Cultural Heritage", hosted by the Tongzhou District Bureau of Culture and Tourism and co-organized by the Tongzhou Station office, will be open to passengers. On September 26, an inheritor of traditional knot-tying techniques will teach participants how to make the Pan-chang and Auspicious knots. On September 27, an instructor in the traditional Beijing "Mao Hou" (hairy monkey) craft will explain the origins and techniques of this traditional Beijing art form. Using cicada sloughs and magnolia flower buds as materials, visitors will gain hands-on experience of the ingenuity behind traditional handicrafts. At the Beijing Chaoyang Station transport hub, a Mid-Autumn-themed DIY fan-rubbing activity "Chaoyang Reading & Handicraft Workshop" (驿旅朝阳·书香手工坊) will take place on September 24. Using traditional rubbing, an intangible cultural heritage technique, the event invites waiting passengers to make traditional Chinese-style round fans with Mid-Autumn designs.

At Qinghe Station, with the theme of "Full Moon, Warm Journey" (月满中秋·情暖旅途), lantern-riddle boards and pitch-pot game zones will be set up in the exit area starting from September 24. Passengers can take part in the riddle games and receive small Mid-Autumn Festival gifts if they give correct answers.

The Beijing North Station area will host a Mid-Autumn Festival market featuring intangible cultural heritage and folk customs. The station square has been designed as a festive leisure space for sightseeing, hands-on experiences, leisure and photo opportunities.

Transport Hubs to Become "Urban Cultural Living Rooms"

On the afternoon of September 26, a concert will be held in the main hall of Chaoyang Station. The Guoyin Hall at Dongfeng Sub-district will present a public folk music concert themed "Moonlit China - Rhythmic Chaoyang" (月圆中华·乐闪朝阳) to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day.

The Beijing West Station area combines cultural and tourism flash-mob performances with urban promotion. In partnership with Shijingshan District, it hosts the themed flash-mob "Surprise Shijingshan". Performances include the national-level intangible cultural heritage Shijingshan Taiping Drum show Passing Down the Flame, Celebrating Peace (星火相传赞太平), the batik fashion show Dreams of Mountains, Rivers and Cities, and the flower-stick performance Warhorses.

The Mid-Autumn Festival-themed intangible cultural heritage activities at Tongzhou Station tie in with five newly-launched local intangible cultural heritage tourist routes in Tongzhou. As a key starting point for these routes, Tongzhou Station aims to set a new benchmark for intercity cultural tourism — "start exploring as soon as you arrive". Passengers arriving that day can also claim exclusive digital vouchers for intangible cultural heritage tourism, while Didi ride-hailing coupons are available for the heritage-themed routes, creating a mutually reinforcing link between the "ticket stub economy" and intangible cultural heritage promotion.

The handicraft workshop at Chaoyang Station ties in with the reading campaign "Take a Good Book on Your Trip" run by Chaoyang District Library. The cultural and tourism flash-mob events at Beijing West Station coincide with promotional activities ahead of WTT China Smash, opening up new possibilities for station-city integration through "event IP plus urban promotion".

(Source: The Beijing News)