To curb local "landscaping impulses," a serious accountability mechanism must be established, sending the signal that "reckless decision-making comes at a price." The prerequisite for cultural tourism to thrive is that resources come alive, far beyond merely building scenic areas. Resources here include not only hardware facilities such as scenic spots, but also the supply of local culture, emotional value, and other dimensions that tourists favor.

"Building the world's largest, highest-grade, and world-** fairy-tale and mythology park" "the world's ** imperial culture zone"... According to a report in the Xinhua Daily Telegraph on April 28, in recent years, some localities have sought to create "internet-famous" cultural tourism projects, yet due to interrupted investment, illegal land occupation, and other reasons, projects with tens of billions of yuan in approvals and over a thousand mu of planned land have stalled. Some completed projects sit largely idle and abandoned, and in some places the supporting subway station was built while the theme park was left unfinished beside it... These half-finished "image projects" and "vanity projects" have caused enormous waste of resources.

The stalling of grand projects is lamentable. There are many similar cases. For example, some localities with weak comprehensive financial strength have proposed plans to "break ground in one year, take shape in two, shine in three, and become famous in five," plunging into heavy debt to build cultural tourism projects that attract few visitors once completed; some arid regions have spent huge sums to enclose lakes and create landscapes, with annual evaporation equivalent to several West Lakes; some places with unremarkable tourism resources have copied models from elsewhere only to find them ill-suited, and so on.

Admittedly, project failures may sometimes involve variables that emerge in the mid-to-late stages, but more often they are inherently deficient and launched while already ailing. First, distorted views of political achievement are at work: "face projects" are visible and tangible, able to quickly refresh a city's image and produce "achievements," and localities with insufficient financial resources are often more prone to falling into the vicious cycle of "the poorer they are, the more they build; the more they build, the poorer they become." Second, some government-enterprise cooperation goes off track: local governments intend to attract investment to strengthen the cultural tourism industry, but often fall into the old path of real estate development. According to media reports, many projects under the banner of cultural tourism are invested in and developed mainly by real estate developers, who lack experience in cultural tourism development and operation, inevitably leading to broken funding chains. Third, projects with incomplete qualifications are given the "green light" all the way: to advance certain key projects, some localities "cut through mountains and build bridges over rivers," turning a blind eye in land-use procedures and planning approvals, or even "boarding the train before buying a ticket," planting many hidden risks for subsequent development and operation.

All of the above are old problems, yet such "landscaping impulses" simply will not stop. The deeper reason is likely that those responsible can neither "stomach the loss" nor must "take the blame"—there is a lack of necessary accountability for certain major decision-making errors and serious breaches of contract. In reality, few relevant local government departments, leading officials, or enterprise heads are held responsible for the failure of such "face projects"; instead, some places even exhibit the bizarre phenomenon of "a few get rich, the government foots the bill." Such a situation—"no responsibility if it fails, fame and fortune if it succeeds"—can, to some extent, create negative incentives.

Pursuing development must follow objective laws. Designing cultural tourism projects is technical and professional work; it requires calculating the overall and long-term accounts, not rushing headlong or making decisions on impulse. Otherwise, money is spent, land is occupied, and nothing is accomplished—not only causing fiscal drain and resource waste, but for the locality, a "face project" becomes even more a "loss-of-face project."

To curb local "landscaping impulses," a serious accountability mechanism must be established, sending the signal that "reckless decision-making comes at a price." In recent years, relevant authorities have explicitly required rectification of problems such as "vanity projects" and "face projects." It is hoped that relevant parties will carry out the rectification work effectively.

In recent years, from Zibo barbecue to Harbin's ice and snow to Tianshui malatang, beneath the flood of "heaven-sent fortune" traffic lies real gold and silver in cultural tourism revenue, which has made many places eager to try. But precisely for long-term and steady development, localities must not overlook that development should be tailored to local conditions and city-specific policies, and action should be taken only after careful planning.

"What made Zibo famous is barbecue, but not entirely barbecue." Practice has repeatedly proven that the prerequisite for cultural tourism to thrive is that resources come alive, far beyond merely building scenic areas. Resources here include not only hardware facilities such as scenic spots, but also the supply of local culture, emotional value, and other dimensions that tourists favor. Revitalizing existing cultural tourism resources and distilling the success codes of those internet-famous cities involves at least two dimensions: first, "cleaning up the house"—tidying up the tables, chairs, benches, pots, bowls, and pans at home, that is, preparing the various facilities, resources, and services related to cultural tourism; second, "inviting guests in and getting them to stay"—presenting the charm of distinctive cuisine, history and culture, and local customs.

Tapping cultural tourism resources and developing cultural tourism projects is aimed at advancing local economic and social development and enhancing the people's sense of gain and happiness. In any case, localities must not deviate from this goal.