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Article

The Suitability of Developing Ecotourism in the Shanxi Area of Taihangshan National Park, a Candidate Area for National Parks in China

by
Qianying Zhu
,
Zhongjun Wang
* and
Mohammad Umer
School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2025, 17(3), 841; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17030841
Submission received: 18 October 2024 / Revised: 12 January 2025 / Accepted: 20 January 2025 / Published: 21 January 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Resource Management and Sustainable Tourism)
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Abstract

:
Ecotourism is increasingly recognized as a vital component of sustainable development within national parks, yet its potential within China’s emerging national park system remains underexplored. Focusing on the Shanxi Province section of the Taihang Mountain National Park—a candidate area designated in December 2022—this study addresses the critical questions of whether and how to develop ecotourism tailored to this region’s unique environmental and cultural characteristics. To address these issues, a mixed-method approach integrating quantitative and qualitative analyses was employed to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the area’s tourism resources and market potential. A statistical analysis of its ecotourism resources and a high-frequency word cloud analysis of online travelogues revealed that the region possesses significant potential for ecotourism development. These findings provide actionable strategies, including fostering gateway communities, improving infrastructure, and enhancing tourism services, while emphasizing the importance of community involvement, low-carbon practices, and sector diversification. This study not only advances our theoretical understanding of ecotourism by highlighting the role of gateway communities and the balance between conservation and tourism growth but also offers practical insights for the sustainable development of China’s national parks.

1. Introduction

The concept of national parks, originating with the establishment of Yellowstone National Park in the USA in 1872, has evolved globally into diverse systems that balance conservation and recreation. In China, the establishment of a “protected area system with national parks as the mainstay” marks a significant step toward ecological civilization [1]. The first batch of five national parks, formally established in October 2021, can effectively solve the problem of chaotic and overlapping management systems of protected natural areas in China [2]. National parks in China are authorized by the central government and implemented by government-led management with clear boundaries, and the main purpose of protecting large areas of nationally representative natural ecosystems set up in specific land, marine, and ocean areas is to achieve a combination of ecological protection and reasonable development. In December 2022, the Spatial Distribution Plan for National Parks designated Taihangshan National Park as 1 of 49 terrestrial national park candidate areas (including 5 national parks that have been formally established).
Research on urban parks emphasizes the role of green spaces in mitigating heat and enhancing climate resilience, which is also applicable to ecotourism in areas with environmental challenges such as Taihangshan [3]. Additionally, studies on ecosystem services in national parks provide insights into how regulating services like biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and water regulation can support ecotourism, but their application to China’s candidate national parks remains underexplored [4]. Economic valuation methods for urban green spaces demonstrate the potential for assessing the value of landscape amenities, which could be extended to evaluating the economic viability of ecotourism in Taihangshan [5]. Besides this, China’s national park system was established relatively late, emphasizing only the protection of large-scale ecological processes and ecosystems [6]. However, the current literature lacks a direct focus on ecotourism’s economic impact, ecosystem service valuation, and the integration of landscape architecture into mountainous and semi-arid regions, all of which are crucial to the sustainable development of ecotourism in Taihangshan National Park.
At present, the cultural, educational, and recreational functions of Chinese national parks are not prominent. On the one hand, almost all economic development activities, including ecotourism, are prohibited in China’s national parks, which is detrimental to the development of national parks [1]. On the other hand, ecotourism is particularly important in areas of high biodiversity value such as national parks, as it is believed that tourism activities should contribute to the conservation of nature and the realization of its values [7,8,9]. China’s national parks, as the most biodiverse part of the protected area system, are attractive to ecotourists and can provide high-quality tourism resources for ecotourism. In turn, the consumption of ecotourists can bring economic and social benefits to national parks [10].
This research fills a gap in understanding how to develop ecotourism tailored to this region’s unique environmental and cultural characteristics. The insights from this study could inform policymaking and sustainable development strategies for other national park candidate areas in China. Specifically, this study addressed the following objectives: (a) Assess the natural, cultural, and tourism resources in the Shanxi area and analyze the market potential to determine ecotourism viability; (b) Analyze online travelogues and visitor experiences to identify strengths, challenges, and gaps in the current tourism infrastructure; (c) Propose frameworks for engaging local communities in ecotourism, ensuring mutual benefits and sustainable practices; (d) Explore the role and design of gateway communities to support sustainable visitor management and infrastructure; and (e) Offer theoretical insights and practical guidelines to policymakers for implementing ecotourism development strategies in national park candidate areas.
A multi-method approach was employed to achieve these objectives. A resource analysis was used to identify key natural assets, including biodiversity and geological features, and cultural landmarks. Market demand was assessed through an analysis of 1753 travelogues from Ctrip.com, using ROSTCM6 and R4.1.3 software for word frequency and sentiment analysis. Although valuable insights into tourist preferences were gained, the lack of direct survey data limits the depth of our understanding of the tourist demographics.
This study contributes a region-specific framework for developing sustainable ecotourism, integrating ecological and cultural assessments with a market demand analysis. It proposes a balanced model that promotes both conservation and local economic benefits, offering actionable recommendations for policymakers and stakeholders to enhance ecotourism development in national parks. This research contributes to a broader understanding of how national parks can support both environmental preservation and socio-economic development.

2. A Literature Review

In order to conduct an in-depth study of the implementation of ecotourism within China’s national parks, it is essential to review the existing literature to gain a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of ecotourism in China, the relationship between ecotourism and national parks, and its impact on conservation, local communities, and other related aspects.
By searching the Web of Science core database for literature on the topics “National Parks” and “Ecotourism” from 2015 to 2023, a visual analysis was conducted on the 725 articles obtained. The number of publications has increased year by year and then been stable at around 110 per year in the past three years.
These studies have centered on three main areas: the sustainability of ecotourism within national parks, ecotourists’ experiences, and ecotourism planning [11]. The results of these studies show that ecotourism in national parks is necessary and beneficial, especially if the concept of ecotourism is rigorously implemented, and that improving the interpretation system and involving the community can lead to better results [12]. Research on national parks in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Africa has shown that national parks are an effective means of promoting ecological conservation, with positive effects including improving local well-being, deepening the tourism experience, promoting resource sustainability, and increasing revenue. The number of Chinese studies on national parks has been on the rise since 2000 with the introduction and popularization of ecological protection and ecotourism. “Ecotourism” ranked seventh in terms of topic frequency in the Chinese literature on national parks published between 1980 and 2023 [13]. Although the total number is not large, it has shown rapid growth since 2015 from 99 articles in 2015 to 362 articles in 2022, which is highly consistent with China’s official launch of the pilot project of the national park system in 2015.
Li Boyan et al. proposed that ecotourism in national parks can solve the contradic-tion between development and protection, improve the sense of national identity, and realize the inheritance of natural and cultural heritage [14]. Pan Jia argues that the rec-reational functions of national parks should be defined by law [15]. On the contrary, Zhao Zhicong et al. believe that a more cautious attitude should be taken to upgrading and integrating nature reserves into national parks, and tourism activities in protected areas should be strictly restricted [16].
Overall, the national park research community is growing, and the focus of the research is shifting to sharing and win-win situations in national parks. Ecotourism uti-lization and sustainable development are the focus of tourism research in national parks globally [13,17]. However, the focus and progress of Chinese and international research are different. Most of the Chinese literature focuses on the study of the natural areas in national parks, while the international research in this field is more detailed and comprehensive, covering governance mechanisms, the impacts of tourism development, benefits, conflicts, and sustainable tourism utilization.
The proposed Taihangshan National Park is located in proximity to the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region and endowed with rich ecological and cultural resources. How to develop ecotourism in the context of building national parks is an important topic in the research field. To explore this topic, a search was conducted on CNKI using the keywords “Taihangshan National Park” and “Taihangshan ecotourism,” resulting in the retrieval of 123 literature articles. These articles comprised 43 academic journal publications, 25 academic dissertations, 5 conference proceedings, and 21 newspaper reports, predominantly focusing on geological tourism development and plant resource studies within the Taihangshan region. However, it was observed that there is a dearth of research specifically dedicated to ecotourism within Taihangshan National Park, indicating that this particular field has not garnered sufficient scholarly attention. Accordingly, this study focuses on the ecotourism within the Shanxi area of the Taihang Mountain National Park as its research content, conducting comprehensive resource and market analyses and subsequently proposing a development roadmap for ecotourism in this particular region.

2.1. The Development History of Ecotourism in China

The Mexican scholar H. Ceballos-Lascurain proposed the academic concept of “ecotourism” in 1983, which not only refers to all trips that involve viewing natural landscapes but also emphasizes that the landscapes being viewed should not suffer any degradation [18]. Ecotourism emphasizes conservation, environmental education, and benefiting local communities, quickly becoming a key model for sustainable tourism in many countries [19]. The concept of ecotourism was introduced into China in 1993 by Zhang Xuguang and Guo Kang [20]. Since then, it has received support and attention from government departments, academia, and society. At the national level, official standards such as the “National Ecotourism Demonstration Area Construction and Operation Specifications (GB/T26362-2010 [21])” and the “National Ecotourism Development Plan (2016–2025)” have been issued, marking a new stage in the development of ecotourism. Li Yanqin divides the development of ecotourism in China into four stages [22]:
  • 1993–1999: The Concept Introduction Stage. This first stage spans from 1993, when the concept of ecological tourism was formally introduced into China, to 1999, when the China National Tourism Administration established the “Eco-Environmental Tourism Year”. During this period, China lacked the foundations for the development of ecotourism, and the concept itself was the result of the introduction of international experience, exhibiting typical external characteristics. Academia was the primary driving force behind the development of ecotourism in this stage, with scholars distinguishing ecotourism from traditional tourism and attempting to define ecotourism with Chinese characteristics [23,24].
  • 2000–2005: The Mismatch Stage. After 1999, increased governmental attention led to the rapid development of ecotourism in China. However, due to a misalignment between Western theories and Chinese practices, the issue of the overgeneralization of ecotourism emerged. In 2005, Ye Wen and Xue Ximing were among the first to raise the issue of the localization of ecotourism [25]. In the West, ecotourism emerged after discovering the negative impacts of mass tourism in the post-industrial era, while China’s tourism industry began to develop in the 1980s, during a period of rapid industrialization in the 1990s. During this time, environmental concerns were often subordinated to economic development needs. Therefore, scholars, considering China’s national conditions and the large population, proposed the concept of mass ecotourism. Some foreign scholars also suggested from an economic perspective that mass ecotourism could be a sustainable tourism development option for developing countries [26].
  • 2006–2012: The Model Innovation Stage. During this period, the development of ecotourism in China sought to balance environmental protection and human development, aiming for “harmony between heaven and man” and pursuing sustainable, balanced management. Community participation in this phase resembled a form of “consent power” [27,28]. It can be said that although China continued to use the concept of “ecotourism”, the approach remained largely aligned with broader sustainable tourism standards.
  • 2013–Present: The Knowledge Spillover Stage. Since 2013, with an increase in the number of articles published by Chinese scholars in English journals, the theory of localization has been refined further, and China’s ecotourism practices have deepened. China has begun to seek ways to introduce local knowledge on the international stage through various channels.

2.2. The Relationship Between National Parks and Ecotourism

National parks are closely related to ecotourism. They are the main areas for ecotourism. Equally, ecotourism is a function that national parks need to provide, and it is the best form of recreation in national parks [12,29]. Ecotourism can promote biodiversity conservation and environmental protection within national parks, as well as the sustainable development of the areas adjacent to national parks. Conservation and tourism are often linked through national parks [30]. There are many grounds for balancing conservation and development through ecotourism in national parks, and they can be found in the legislation and national park plans of many countries [9].

2.3. The Significance of Ecotourism in National Parks

Ecotourism in national parks has positive implications. A narrative review of the relationship between conservation and development within China’s five formally established national parks indicates that fostering the growth of the ecotourism industry holds significant benefits for both conservation efforts and developmental objectives across all five national parks [31].
  • In terms of social culture, tourists’ participation in ecotourism can enhance their cognition of national parks. Developing ecotourism within national parks can promote the development of nature education. Tourists are educated to learn about and experience the natural culture of the destination and the joys of nature in the process. The involvement of interpreters and tour guides in the process of nature education can effectively disseminate ecological knowledge and enhance public awareness of national parks.
  • In terms of environmental protection, ecotourism is a powerful means of ecological protection in national parks. Environmental education is an important feature that distinguishes ecotourism from mass tourism [31]. Ecotourism contributes to environmental protection through the construction of environmental interpretation systems and eco-friendly facilities [9]. Environmental interpretation plays the role of a mediating variable in the process through which visit motivation influences environmental attitudes and environmental behaviors [32]. Ecotourism in national parks is conducive to promoting public action and forming a community for the protection of natural ecosystems. On the other hand, ecotourism can accelerate the transformation of tourists’ conservation awareness into behavior [33]. Additionally, the promotion of ecotourism can increase the income and improve the professional skills of local residents, thereby increasing their motivation to protect the environment and mitigating the environmental damage caused by tourism [33,34,35].
  • Ecotourism can make substantial contributions to economic development and green transformation processes. It enables the derivation of economic gains from the sustainable exploitation of resources, as highlighted in the work by Song and Li [34]. Moreover, it constitutes a pivotal method for putting into practice the principle of green mountains equating to gold mines and facilitating rural revitalization [36]. An examination of the households residing within and around four prominent giant panda nature reserves in China’s Qinling Mountains provides insights into public sentiment. As reported by Ma and Wen [37], among several conservation and development policies, the promotion of ecotourism by the government appears to be most favored by the local residents. This observation underscores the potential significance of ecotourism in fostering both economic progress and ecological sustainability, which could apply to areas such as the Shanxi section of the Taihang Mountain National Park, a prospective candidate for China’s national park network.
Ecotourism in national parks has contributed to promoting sustainable development, improving the structure of tourism products and raising public awareness of environmental protection. Through scientific planning and management, ecotourism in national parks is expected to achieve a win-win situation of environmental protection, economic growth, and community development [36].

2.4. The Practice of Local Community Engagement in Promoting Ecotourism

Research from Vietnam looks at the quality of community engagement when implementing community-based ecotourism (CBE) at Cat Tien National Park [38], improving stakeholder involvement and openness in governance and using traditional knowledge to improve community engagement and guarantee sustainable ecotourism practices. Research from Ukraine looked at the possibilities of ecotourism, where pristine landscapes provide prospects for economic growth, community participation, and enhanced quality of life. They emphasis the need for strategic local marketing, establishing a Department of Marketing and Tourism, and working with non-profit organizations to strike a balance between environmental protection and community empowerment. They emphasize the many types of community involvement, including women’s roles, and investigate the economic, socio-cultural, and environmental implications of participation [39]. Their study cites difficulties such as uneven benefit sharing, insufficient stakeholder collaboration, and low community participation and suggests greater research on the power dynamics and cross-regional comparisons be conducted to promote more equitable and sustainable ecotourism practices. Research from India examines the effects of ecotourism on local populations in the Chilika Wetland, focusing on environmental, social, and economic factors [40]. Using the DPSIR framework, their study emphasizes the significance of stakeholder participation for sustainable ecotourism governance, with the Mangalajodi case exhibiting successful community-led ecotourism [41]. The participatory approach, which emphasizes community empowerment and bottom-up planning, has gained momentum in global development initiatives [42]. This approach recognizes the dual benefits of involving local communities: preserving natural resources and stimulating local economic development [43]. However, there is ongoing debate about the level of citizen empowerment required for meaningful participation in tourism planning and development.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. The Study Area

The study area in this paper is the Shanxi area of Taihangshan National Park (Figure 1), with geographic coordinates of 110–114° E and 34–41° N. The area covers about 82,300 km2, accounting for 61% of the total area of the Taihang Mountains and 52.3% of the total area of Shanxi Province.
The Taihang Mountains are in northern China, at the junction between the Shanxi Plateau and the North China Plain. As one of China’s 35 priority areas for biodiversity conservation, the Taihang Mountains are an important natural resource area with ecological protection value [44]. The Taihang Mountains are about 400 km long, covering Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, and Henan Provinces, with a total area of approximately 1414.4 square kilometers. Their geographical coordinates are 34°34′~40°43′ N; 110°14′~116°34′ E [45].
The terrain of the Taihang Mountains is high in the north and low in the south, with a northeast-southwest orientation and an average elevation of 1000 to 1200 m. The landform types in the region are complex and varied, including mountains, hills, intermountain basins, intermountain gullies, and platforms [45,46]. The region has a temperate continental monsoon climate with an average annual temperature of about 10 °C. The average annual precipitation in the region is 500–530 mm, and the precipitation is mainly concentrated from July to September. The Taihang Mountains have complex and diverse types of vegetation, and the region is densely vegetated, making it an important vegetation demarcation line in China.
The construction of Taihangshan National Park is in full swing. In 2021, planning of Taihangshan National Park was initiated. The Planning Institute of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration (SFGA) prepared the Scientific Investigation Report and Conformity Determination Report, the Social Impact Assessment, and the Establishment Program for the National Park. In November 2023, the Taihangshan National Park Creation Program, jointly drafted by Shanxi Province and Henan Province, was submitted to the SFGA.

3.2. The Resource Analysis

Quality ecological resources are the basis for ecotourism and nature education. The Taihang Mountains are the geographical boundary and an important mountain range in eastern China. They form the ecological barrier of the North China Plain. Moreover, the Taihang Mountains are also a mountainous tourism area of national cultural significance and an important inheritance of the spirit of the Chinese nation, with many high-quality tourism resources.
This study, by organizing resources from the local SFGA (https://lcj.shanxi.gov.cn/zfxxgk_2022/zc/dfzfgz/, accessed on 7 December 2024), the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (https://www.sxwlw.com/), and the Department of Natural Resources (https://zrzyt.shanxi.gov.cn/, accessed on 7 December 2024), as well as academic research on the region’s flora and fauna, analyzes the natural and cultural resources, infrastructure, and existing famous scenic spots in this region that could be utilized for ecotourism.
The analysis of natural resources includes statistical data on the species of plants and animals, geological features, and the classification and quantity of protected areas. The cultural resource analysis focuses on ancient architecture and local customs. The infrastructure analysis examines the quantity and types of roads, which are indispensable for tourism development in mountainous areas. Lastly, this study provides an overview of the renowned scenic spots and 5A-level attractions currently existing in the region.

3.3. Market Analysis

With rapid socio-economic development and the increasing pressures of urban life, many city dwellers aspire to return to nature. In their leisure time, people are more inclined to relax in nature, and ecotourism is becoming an important form of leisure consumption for residents. The Taihang Mountain area is one of the most mature mountain tourism destinations in China, with a good natural environment, superior geographical conditions, and great market potential in the surrounding urban agglomerations.
In 2019, there were 14 5A-level scenic spots and 124 4A-level scenic spots in the Taihang Mountains, receiving 560 million domestic and foreign tourists and achieving a total tourism revenue of 436.97 billion yuan. Relying on the Taihangshan Tourism Belt, the study area has formed thematic tourism routes for leisure, holidays, sightseeing, picnicking, catering, lodging, and health care and has launched tourism products such as rural tours and mountain tours.
In this study, the Taihang Mountain Grand Canyon scenic spot, serving as the representative scenic area of the Taihang Mountains within Shanxi Province, was selected as the specific subject for the market demand analysis. The authors employed Bazhuayu Collector version 8.6.4 software (https://www.bazhuayu.com/, accessed on 7 December 2024) to retrieve 1753 travelogues pertaining to this attraction from Ctrip.com for the period between October 2015 and October 2023 (https://you.ctrip.com/sight/huguan1446117/142452.html, accessed on 7 December 2024).
Bazhuayu Collector is a powerful web scraping tool that allows users to efficiently collect and structure large volumes of data from websites without requiring programming expertise. Using its point-and-click interface, we configured Bazhuayu Collector to target specific elements of the travelogues, such as the review text, ratings, and publication dates. The software automatically navigated through multiple pages, handling pagination and dynamically loading the content to retrieve the relevant data. The extracted information was then organized into a structured format (CSV or Excel), which facilitated the subsequent data analysis. By automating the data collection process, the Octopus Collector enables research to collect a comprehensive dataset of user-generated content for analysis, ensuring the efficiency and accuracy of travelogue capture during the selected period.
After manually screening and removing content unrelated to the research focus and duplicate travelogues, 1602 travelogues remained. The researchers then corrected typographical errors and merged synonymous terms in the filtered travelogues. Using ROSTCM6 software, they conducted word categorization and a word frequency statistical analysis on the filtered travelogues. Subsequently, they adjusted the word list and applied statistical filters to identify exclusive scenic spot nouns, such as “Baquan Gorge”, “Qinglong Gorge”, “Hongdou Gorge”, “Heilongtan” and “Castle in the sky”. Finally, they retained the top 124 words from the word frequency statistics and created a word cloud map using R4.1.3 software.
However, while analyzing travelogues can provide personalized information about tourists’ evaluations of the scenic area and their emotional responses, this approach also has certain limitations. One of the primary limitations was the absence of direct survey data through questionnaires, which could have provided more detailed, personalized insights into tourists’ specific needs, expectations, and demographic characteristics.

4. Results

4.1. The Resource Advantages for Developing Ecotourism in the Shanxi Area of the Taihangshan National Park

  • The Shanxi area of Taihangshan National Park is rich in natural landscapes and biodiversity. There are more than 300 species of rare plants in the area, as well as wildlife such as rhesus monkeys, leopards, and musk deer. Promoted by the Taihang Mountain Greening Project, the forest and grass cover of the Grand Canyon of the Taihang Mountains in the region has reached 74.9% [47]. At present, there are 158 protected areas in the study area. Among them, there are 41 national protected areas and 117 provincial protected areas. The number of various protected areas is shown in Table 1. There are forests, grasslands lakes, and streams in the area and geological landscapes such as canyons, caves, rocks, and peaks.
  • The research area has cultural resources such as ancient buildings, folk customs, and fairy tales. The Taihang Mountain region is one of the regions with the highest density of ancient architectural remains in China. Nanzen Temple, Foguang Temple, and Guangrenwang Temple, as three existing wooden buildings from the Tang Dynasty in China, are all located in the Taihang Mountain region of Shanxi Province. The existing temple sculptures in the area from the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty from more than 1500 years ago, together with painted sculptures in Dunhuang, constitute a complete system of Chinese temple sculpture art. The folk culture here is diverse, with folk performances such as Lu’an Drum and Shanxi Bangzi opera, as well as traditional handicraft techniques, such as pile brocade and embroidery. In addition, it is also the birthplace of many prehistoric myths.
  • Relying on the Taihang Mountain tourism belt, the study area has become a core area for ecotourism. The region has successfully built the Huguan Taihang Mountain Grand Canyon, Wangmangling, Wutai Mountain, and other tourism brands. There are four national 5A-level tourist attractions located here—Yanmenguan Scenic Spot, Jiexiumian Mountain Scenic Spot, Huangcheng Xiangfu Tourism Area, and Wutai Mountain Scenic Spot—of which Wutai Mountain is rated as world cultural heritage.
  • The study area has excellent tourist transport facilities. The famous “Taihang No. 1” tourist highway is located here. The road is about 1028 km long and connects more than 90 attractions. The theme of the road is “Great Beauty Taihang”, along which you can visit the natural scenery and historical and humanistic landscapes of the Taihang Mountains. Equally, five of China’s seven hanging wall roads are in the Taihang Mountains of Shanxi Province. These roads are not only infrastructure but also a unique tourism resource.

4.2. The Market Demand for Ecotourism in the Shanxi Area of the Taihangshan National Park

This study retrieved 1753 travel blogs about the research scenic area from the Ctrip website using Bazhuayu Collector softwareV8.6.4. After processing, 1602 blogs were retained. These were further categorized and subjected to a word frequency analysis using ROSTCM6, with the top 124 most frequent words retained. A word cloud diagram was then generated using R4.1.3 (Figure 2).
Through the analysis of the word frequency outcomes, the following features of the ecotourism market demand in the Taihang Mountain Grand Canyon scenic area within the Shanxi area of Taihang Mountain National Park were identified.
  • The results show that tourists attach great importance to the ecotourism experience. Natural attractions in the scenic area, such as “Baquan Gorge”, “Hongdou Gorge”, “Qinglong Gorge”, were repeatedly mentioned by tourists. High-frequency positive adjectives such as “beautiful”, “mountainous”, “spectacular”, “shocking”, “airy”, “scenic”, and “pleasant” are also mainly used to describe natural scenery. This indicates that the natural landscape of the Shanxi area of the Taihangshan National Park has great attraction for tourists.
  • Tourist amenities that reflect convenience also capture the attention of tourists. High-frequency words such as “elevator”, “cable car”, “parking lot”, “cableway”, “pleasure boat”, “electro-mobile”, “convenience”, “accommodation”, and “plank road” indicate attention to the completeness of the tourist facilities in the scenic area. The completeness of these facilities is crucial to a satisfactory tourist experience.
  • Most of the tourists who visited were traveling in groups. Words describing travelling companions, such as “children”, “elderly”, and “friends”, also appeared many times. Therefore, the region should develop a variety of ecotourism projects according to the needs of various types of tourists.
  • Visitors value the quality of scenic services, especially the service of front-line workers. The words “management”, “hygiene”, “queuing”, “staff”, “order”, “charge”, and “traffic jam” show their concern about service quality. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the services in the scenic area, determine the reasonable capacity of tourists in the scenic area, and ensure the comfort and safety of tourists during traveling.
By analyzing the needs at a representative scenic spot in the study area, the following conclusions were drawn:
  • Beautiful scenery is the region’s most important tourism attraction. As an ecotourism destination, the natural environment in the Shanxi area of the Taihangshan National Park must be strictly protected.
  • The tourism support facilities in the study area need to be improved. The scenic spots should provide abundant tourism activities to meet the needs of different types of tourists.
  • To provide services that satisfy tourists, the region should improve the level of service management and strengthen the training and management of tourism service personnel. These initiatives will help enhance the competitiveness of the tourism region and promote the sustainable development of ecotourism in the region.

4.3. The Necessity of Establishing Taihangshan National Park

The establishment of national parks is a model of nature conservation that is generally accepted throughout the world. This model not only can protect the ecological environment but can also bring income through the development of ecotourism. There are 158 nature reserves distributed in the Taihang Mountain region with rich natural resources. Additionally, the Taihang Mountains are a mountain range with national cultural symbolism. As a support area for several national strategies, the Taihang Mountain region has an important position in the implementation of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Cooperative Development Strategy [48]. Based on the important strategic location and cultural symbolism of the study area, the Spatial Layout Program for National Parks published in December 2023 included the Taihang Mountain region as a candidate area for a national park.

4.4. The Necessity of Developing Ecotourism in the Shanxi Area of Taihangshan National Park

First, ecotourism is a necessary choice for the development of national parks and their surrounding areas. In the Interim Management Measures for National Parks issued by the State Forestry Administration in June 2022, it was proposed that national park management agencies should provide high-quality ecological products, as well as public services such as scientific research, education, culture, and ecotourism, in accordance with the overall planning and special planning of national parks. At present, the five national parks that have been established in China have issued concession management measures clarifying the scope and mode of conducting concessions in national parks.
Second, the development of ecotourism in the Shanxi area of the Taihangshan National Park is an important element of the Taihang Mountain Thematic Tourism Route in the Taihang Mountain Tourism Development Plan (2020–2025), and it is an important way for the region to achieve its ecological protection and economic development goals. As noted in the resource analysis above, there are attractive natural resources, historic sites, and cultural resources within the region. The high quality of the resources in the Shanxi area of Taihangshan National Park determines its enormous potential for the development of ecotourism.
Third, the Shanxi area of the Taihangshan National Park is a well-known tourist destination in China. The development of ecotourism in the region has excellent resource conditions and broad market demand. Tourism plays an important role in the economic and social development of the Taihang Mountain area. It is an overlapping area of poverty and ecological fragility, and the region faces formidable challenges in economic development and ecological protection. A total of 12 of the 26 former national poverty-stricken counties in the Taihang Mountains have taken tourism as an important leading industry to alleviate poverty. Datong, Xinzhou, Jinzhong, Changzhi, Jincheng, and other resource-based cities in Shanxi Province have also taken tourism as a pillar industry for achieving a strategic transformation in economic development. Many tourist reception facilities have been built in the study area, and ecotourism has become an important source of income for local people. If ecotourism is prohibited due to the construction of national parks, it will lead to a series of problems, such as investment failure, disused tourist reception facilities, decreased community income, and even serious economic and social problems.

5. Discussion

5.1. Conflicts Between Perception and Reality as to Whether Ecotourism Should Be Carried out in China’s National Park

China has carried out explorations on the protection and utilization of national parks. Although there is a strong demand from the public for ecotourism in national parks, there is still controversy in China over whether ecotourism should be developed within national parks. In the context of national parks, the government tends to use the terms “natural education”, “ecological recreation”, and “natural tourism” instead of “ecotourism” [49]. Similar to the Galápagos Islands, where uncontrolled ecotourism resulted in the deterioration of ecosystems, this careful approach reflects worries about possible detrimental effects [50]. After the concept of ecotourism was introduced into China in the 1990s, although relevant research has been active, no unified conclusion on basic theoretical issues has been reached yet. One manifestation is that there is no unified and localized definition of or industry standards for ecotourism in China [51]. According to Weaver (2001) [52], ecotourism models around the world have had difficulty striking a balance between environmental, cultural, and economic issues. This difficulty is not specific to China.
The world’s first national parks were established in 1879, while China only formally established its first national parks in 2021. Therefore, China’s national park system still requires a great deal of exploration, and it is inevitable that there will be different views in the process [53]. Some people believe that national parks are absolutely protected areas and should not allow any development activities. This view ignores the fact that there are still many communities in the park and the public’s demand for ecotourism. It also ignores the construction concept of “welfare for all” of national parks, as well as the positioning of national parks: in addition to the complete protection of ecosystems, they should have comprehensive functions, such as scientific research, education, and recreation. But striking a balance between development and protection is a major problem on a worldwide scale. For example, Yellowstone National Park in the United States has demonstrated that with appropriate management, ecotourism and ecological preservation may coexist [54]. However, one thing is undeniable: such views do exist for a reason. In the past, the development of ecotourism has caused serious ecological damage to China’s national forest parks due to the rapid pace of development, a lack of long-term planning, the generalization of the concept of ecotourism, the pursuit of economic benefits, and the large domestic market. Specific examples include the construction of three tourist cable cars on Mount Tai, a dual World Natural and Cultural Heritage site, and a 325 m aerial lift on the edge of a cliff in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, which permanently altered the landscape. These instances highlight how crucial it is to manage ecotourism in order to avoid irreparable harm. Similar effects of landscape modification were found in research on the effects of cable car installation in the Swiss Alps, highlighting the necessity of meticulous planning. Past experience has shown that tourism in remote areas or protected areas, if carried out in an inappropriate manner, can be a major cause of degradation of the local ecological economic and social systems, rather than maintaining and balancing these elements, as required by the principles of sustainable development [49].

5.2. The Problems in Developing Ecotourism in China

  • Tour operators have a biased understanding of ecotourism. Ecotourism has been misunderstood and generalized and is often regarded as nature tourism and refined mass tourism. Especially after the “China Ecotourism Year” in 2009, ecotourism has sprung up in China, and the phenomena of “generalization” and “alienation” are very serious [55]. In other nations as well, this misconception has presented serious difficulties. For instance, ecotourism and mass tourism were frequently confused in the Amazon, which resulted in environmental damage [56]. The top-down introduction of ecotourism models has not been well integrated with China’s cultural and historical background [57,58,59,60]. Globally, it has been maintained that in order to attain true sustainability, ecotourism models need to take into account local customs and habitats [61]. Part of this background is a scientific research paper in English with the following conclusion—in order to achieve sustainability, international standardization of the concept of ecotourism should include local characteristics—which is a difficult task that is far from being achieved [62].
  • The one-sided pursuit of economic benefits by tourism developers has led to the destruction of the ecological environment. They used to conduct mass tourism in the name of ecotourism to raise the selling price, ignoring the requirements of ecotourism in terms of facilities, services, and management [63]. This problem is not exclusive to China; for example, ecotourism in some areas of Costa Rica has come under fire for damaging the ecosystem because of lax regulations and over-commercialization. Such behavior has caused irreversible damage to the ecological environment of nature reserves, such as nature reserves and forest parks, and seriously affected the habitats of flora and fauna in the region. According to a survey provided by the Man and the Biosphere National Committee, 22 percent of China’s nature reserves have been damaged by ecotourism, and 11 percent have suffered degradation of tourism resources. Tourism has even led to water pollution, noise pollution, air pollution, and degradation of the natural environment. Additionally, research indicates that when ecotourism turns into a mass market, it frequently exacerbates the very problems it seeks to alleviate and falls short of its sustainable development objectives [64].
  • The government has not issued laws and regulations in a timely manner. The promulgation of the relevant legal system has not been able to catch up with the development of ecotourism. The inadequacy of the laws and regulations in the ecotourism industry has led to problems of lax law enforcement and inadequate supervision. Effective management of ecotourism in China has been severely hampered by the slow speed of policymaking, particularly when it comes to national parks [65]. At present, China’s National Parks Law has not yet been issued, and ecotourism in national parks will face the problem of a lack of laws and regulations. Similar problems with unsustainable practices are caused by this legal framework gap in other nations, such as India, where ecotourism legislation is still being developed [66].
  • Ecotourism involves only natural elements and lacks local cultural elements. Ecotourism should not only rely on natural resources but also enable tourists to experience the culture of different regions. However, ecotourism in China tends to ignore cultural elements and emphasize only natural scenery. The omission of cultural components from Chinese ecotourism frequently results in limited comprehension of the local context and does not enhance the visitor experience [67]. As evidenced in places like the Amazon rainforest, a more balanced strategy that incorporates both environmental and cultural components has been found to improve ecotourism’s sustainability and authenticity [68].
  • Local communities, as stakeholders, have not received sufficient attention. The community’s participation ability and level of participation at ecotourism destinations are low. Community residents have little decision-making power. Moreover, residents who are able to participate in ecotourism tend to focus only on the economic benefits, ignoring the comprehensive benefits of culture and ecology [36]. Despite its potential to enhance local livelihoods and conservation outcomes, community involvement in sustainable tourism practices is still underdeveloped [69]. There is a shortage of managers and operators with knowledge of both ecology and tourism.
  • The environmental education function of ecotourism has not been fully realized. At present, the construction of the interpretation system in China’s nature reserves has not been fully completed. Additionally, the lack of interpretation publications and guidelines also hinders the implementation of environmental education. A more thorough and locally specific interpretation system may greatly raise the public understanding of conservation issues and encourage responsible tourism [70]. The efficacy of ecotourism as a teaching tool for encouraging environmental stewardship is restricted in the absence of such systems [71].
China’s national parks implement the strictest protection and are the most important areas in protected areas. The uniqueness of the protected objects and the levels of national parks determines the differences in tourism themes and the irreplaceability of national parks as ecotourism resources. Therefore, ecotourism in national parks has a vast market. To strike a balance between the public’s desire for travel and the necessity of maintaining the biological integrity of these places, ecotourism in national parks must be properly controlled. Given the negative impact of ecotourism development in the past, China has not strongly promoted ecotourism development in national parks. However, ecotourism in national parks is imperative as the public’s demand for ecosystems and culture grows. China’s national parks should learn from the experience of ecotourism in protected areas, adopt a sustainable approach that combines protection and education, and leverage their abundant resources to meet the diversified ecotourism needs of tourists under the premise of protection. This strategy will guarantee the parks’ and the local communities’ long-term sustainability.
A limitation of this study is the reliance on travelogues extracted from Ctrip.com for the market demand analysis, which, while it provides valuable insights into tourists’ evaluations and emotional responses, does not capture the detailed demographic characteristics or specific needs of the visitors. The absence of direct survey data, such as those from questionnaires, restricts the ability to gain a deeper understanding of tourists’ expectations, preferences, and socio-economic profiles. Future research could benefit from integrating the primary data collection with surveys at various representative tourist attractions in the region to provide a more comprehensive and nuanced view of the market demand for ecotourism in the Taihangshan area.

6. Conclusions

This research underscores the potential of ecotourism in Taihangshan National Park as a means to foster both environmental conservation and socioeconomic growth in the Shanxi region. By leveraging the park’s diverse ecosystems and cultural significance, along with its integration into broader tourism initiatives like the Taihang Mountain Thematic Tourism Route, ecotourism presents a sustainable pathway for regional development. Key strategies for success include developing gateway communities, enhancing the infrastructure, and improving tourism services to maintain a balance between conservation and economic growth. Theoretically, this study advances ecotourism by emphasizing low-carbon practices, sector diversification, and community engagement—essential elements of sustainable tourism. Despite challenges such as weak regulatory frameworks and limited community participation, addressing these issues through effective management is crucial for progress.
This research provides valuable insights for policymakers on growing ecotourism in alignment with both ecological goals and economic demands. It is anticipated that with the ongoing enhancement of China’s national park management system, Taihangshan National Park and similar areas will adopt ecotourism practices that could contribute to long-term sustainability. Ultimately, ecotourism could become a significant revenue source, reducing reliance on government funding while simultaneously promoting ecological conservation and improving local livelihoods.
Future research should collect primary data through surveys and interviews to capture tourists’ demographic characteristics and preferences, complementing the insights found in the travelogues. Expanding the scope of this study to a broader range of areas could deepen our understanding of ecotourism demand further and provide more targeted development strategies for the Taihang Mountain region and China’s national parks.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization: Z.W. and Q.Z. Methodology: Z.W. Investigation: Q.Z. Writing—original draft preparation: Q.Z. Writing—review and editing: Z.W., Q.Z. and M.U. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the editor and the four anonymous referees for their valuable comments. The authors also sincerely appreciate the assistance of Sikandar Iqbal from Beijing Forestry University and Umer Hayat from Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University during the two rounds of revisions. They actively participated in the revision discussions and helped the authors address some of the issues raised by the reviewers. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Sustainability 17 00841 g001
Figure 1. Map of the Shanxi area of Taihangshan National Park.
Figure 1. Map of the Shanxi area of Taihangshan National Park.
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Figure 2. Word cloud map of the Taihangshan Grand Canyon Scenic Spot travelogue.
Figure 2. Word cloud map of the Taihangshan Grand Canyon Scenic Spot travelogue.
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Table 1. Types and number of natural protected areas in Taihang Mountains, Shanxi Province.
Table 1. Types and number of natural protected areas in Taihang Mountains, Shanxi Province.
Type of Protected AreaNumber of Protected AreasProtection Object
National LevelProvincial LevelTotal
Forest Parks144256Areas of large-scale plantation forests or natural forests with forest landscape characteristics
Wetland Parks102030Water bodies with a wetland ecological environment and diversified wetland landscape resources
Nature Reserves42529Areas with representative natural ecosystems, concentrated distribution areas of rare and endangered species, and natural relics of special significance
Scenic Spots32528Natural or cultural landscapes of ornamental, cultural, or scientific value
Geological Parks8513Geological monuments with special scientific significance, rarity, and aesthetic value
Desert Parks202Areas with desert ecosystems and desert landscapes
Total41117158-
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Zhu, Q.; Wang, Z.; Umer, M. The Suitability of Developing Ecotourism in the Shanxi Area of Taihangshan National Park, a Candidate Area for National Parks in China. Sustainability 2025, 17, 841. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17030841

AMA Style

Zhu Q, Wang Z, Umer M. The Suitability of Developing Ecotourism in the Shanxi Area of Taihangshan National Park, a Candidate Area for National Parks in China. Sustainability. 2025; 17(3):841. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17030841

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhu, Qianying, Zhongjun Wang, and Mohammad Umer. 2025. "The Suitability of Developing Ecotourism in the Shanxi Area of Taihangshan National Park, a Candidate Area for National Parks in China" Sustainability 17, no. 3: 841. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17030841

APA Style

Zhu, Q., Wang, Z., & Umer, M. (2025). The Suitability of Developing Ecotourism in the Shanxi Area of Taihangshan National Park, a Candidate Area for National Parks in China. Sustainability, 17(3), 841. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17030841

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