Many ancient towns all look pretty much the same. But when you step into the Tongmeng Ancient Town in Xinxiang, you’ll find it’s quite different—it’s not just about “creating a scene,” but about bringing daily life, industry, and people together in the same space.
Recently, led by Mr. Fan Ziping of the Zhongyuan Association in Singapore, a delegation of the association’s presidents visited Tongmeng Ancient Town to gain firsthand insight into the overall planning and operational model of this cultural tourism project.
At First Glance | It feels more like a “complete project” than a single tourist attraction
Tongmeng Ancient Town is a large-scale project: it covers approximately 2,000 mu and involves a total investment of about 10 billion yuan. The project is not merely a tourism venture; rather, it is divided into:
- Core Tourist Area
- Bed and Breakfast Area
- Retirement Resort
- Artists' Village
It’s more like a “multi-faceted cultural and tourism town.” As you walk through it, you’ll clearly sense that it’s not just a place to “look around,” but one designed for “staying” and “returning time and again.”
Core Area | Not Just a Shopping Street, but a “Lifestyle Destination”
The core tourist area covers approximately 500 mu and has a total investment of 800 million yuan. It offers a wide variety of attractions, including food stalls, workshops, folk culture experiences, restaurants, cafes, and displays of intangible cultural heritage. However, what sets it apart from ordinary tourist attractions is its commitment to recreating an authentic “way of life.”
For example:
- Many of the shops are run with the help of local villagers
- Some shop owners live right in the courtyard
People live here—they don’t just do business—and that’s what makes the whole space feel more “authentic.”
What's Interesting | Not Retro, but “Reorganization”
Most of the buildings in the ancient town are replicas of traditional dwellings from various parts of Henan Province.
The blue-gray bricks, gray tiles, and courtyard layout all preserve the traditional style of Central China. But this isn’t a simple replication; instead, it achieves something far more challenging: recombining these elements to make them suitable for modern use. You can explore, stay, dine, or simply relax here.
A Closer Look | It’s Actually Building an “Industry”
Tongmeng Ancient Town is more than just a tourist attraction. The logic behind it is: attract visitors through tourism → build connections through products → and foster repeat business.
For example:
- Agricultural and livestock products
- Local Specialty Foods
- Local Cultural Experiences
The goal is to encourage tourists to return, fostering a “repeat business” relationship. Behind this lies the concept of integrating the primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors.
Operating Model | Centralized Management to Ensure Consistency
A key point is that the core areas are retained by the company and managed under a unified operational framework.
The advantage of doing this is:
- Consistent style
- Quality is under control
- It’s not easy to get “messy”
This is also the common logic behind many successful cultural and tourism projects.
Looking further up | Behind it all is a seasoned industry operations team
The developer of Tongmeng Ancient Town is Futong Holding Group, a company that specializes in industrial park development, investment promotion, and operations.
To date, the company has managed industrial parks covering a total area of over 3 million square meters and served more than 3,000 enterprises. In other words, it applies an “industrial development approach” to cultural and tourism projects. This is what makes this project particularly unique.
A simple explanation
While many ancient towns are essentially “tourist attractions,” Tongmeng Ancient Town is more like a “lifestyle project” designed for long-term sustainability.
Delegation
Zhao Tianxing, Honorary President of the Zhongyuan Association and Chairman of Futong Holding Group
Wang Jiancheng, Advisor to Zhongyuan Association, Chairman of Ronghua Group
Ma Xiaoyun, Permanent Honorary President of the Zhongyuan Association and Founder of Jingma International
Fan Ziping, Zhongyuan Association
Yang Xuemei, Honorary President of the Zhongyuan Association and Chairwoman of Shaanxi Dewo Energy-Saving Technology
Yue Wei, Honorary President of the Zhongyuan Association and Chairman of Shanxi Shengyuan Construction Engineering Co., Ltd.
Wang Yanbin, Executive Vice President of the Zhongyuan Association and Managing Director of Xingmazi Film Sdn Bhd
Zhang Bo, Vice President of the Zhongyuan Association and CEO of Cheng•Production Pte. Ltd.
Zhang Lifeng, Honorary Vice President of the Zhongyuan Association and Managing Director of Fuhua Private Limited
Guo Lijun, Deputy Secretary-General of the Zhongyuan Association and CEO of Henan Kenan Crane Co., Ltd.
Written by: Zhao Xiaodan
Photography: Cheng • Production Pte. Ltd.
Produced by: Singapore Zhongyuan Association