Taiyuan, a historic and cultural city in north China's Shanxi Province, is experiencing a significant increase in museum visits during the week-long National Day holiday starting from Tuesday.
Traveling to a city, and exploring its museums, has become a prominent new tourism trend in China, especially in Taiyuan, the "City of Museums."
"The Northern Qi Dynasty Mural Museum employs a variety of digital technologies, such as immersive VR, naked-eye 3D, and metaverse, to bring the antiquities to life," said Wang Jiang, curator of the Taiyuan Northern Qi Dynasty Mural Museum.
Boasting 101 museums, Taiyuan has seen a spike in museum visits during the holiday period. Tickets to popular museums such as the Shanxi Museum, the Northern Qi Dynasty Mural Museum, and the Jinci Museum are often booked days in advance.
"I'm from Beijing. I think Shanxi Province has a wealth of ancient architecture. The antiquities are exceptionally well-preserved. Overall, it’s incredibly eye-opening," said a tourist.
"I've heard that the Shanxi Museum has a very rich collection. It's said that 'when it comes to above-ground cultural relics, Shanxi is the place to be.' Also I've noticed that, compared to previous years, museums have become more diverse in their exhibition formats and explanations," said another tourist from east China's Jiangxi Province.
To enhance the experience for out-of-province visitors amid a significant increase in tourist numbers, local museums have introduced a variety of new measures.
"Overall speaking, the number of tourists has seen significant growth this year, with many of them reporting difficulty in booking tickets. In response, we've implemented measures such as extending opening hours and hosting creative cultural product markets in the museum to accommodate the increased interest," said Zhang Huiguo, deputy director of Shanxi Museum.
Taiyuan's museum travel craze boosts tourism sector growth
Farmers in a rural town in eastern Austria are looking to cultivate Mediterranean-style staples as the impact of climate change sees winter weather in their region warm up.
Young entrepreneurs William Markl and Jonathan Beck are among those seeking to turn their local town of Gols in the eastern state of Burgenland into their own version of Tuscany, an Italian region producing some of the finest olive oils in the world for centuries.
This once far-fetched idea is now becoming increasingly feasible given the dramatic climate shifts which are taking place. Since the turn of the 20th century, temperatures in Austria have risen by three degrees Celsius, more than twice the global average.
Previously, olive trees would not survive Austrian winters of the past, but they are now thriving thanks to the milder climate, with some olive groves expanding across several hectares in the area.
"The last 10-15 years, climate change in this region has been so strong that nowadays our winters are so mild that olives just grow here," said Markl.
Over the last three years, Markl and Beck have planted some 400 olive trees and are expecting to steadily increase production.
"If we reach a point where we maybe harvest around 2,000 kilos we will be thinking about producing oil," said Beck.
Beyond olives, some Austrian farmers have also started cultivating rice while winegrowers are testing new heat-resistant grapes. This comes as traditional crops are challenged by increasing periods of heat and drought in the summer months.
Markl, who is half-Chinese, has also started to grow the famously spicy Sichuan peppers and Chinese dates alongside his olive trees, in response to consumers seeking out more exotic foods.
He expects the entire local region to undergo a major transformation in the coming years.
"It's fun to like drive around the region and then you see another new olive grove from somebody else. Like maybe in a few years, 10-20 years, we're going to look like Italy here," Markl said.
While the duo are looking to tap into the potential now afforded by the changing local environment, several farmers worry that Austrian summers are now becoming too dry, even for olive trees.
New irrigation canals which are set to withdraw water from the mighty Danube River could help ease the situation, as the agriculture community looks to stay on top of the ever-evolving climate situation.
Austrian farmers take advantage of warmer winters to grow olives
