Two indices reports on development of rowing sport and hutong revitalization in Shenyang, the capital city of northeast China's Liaoning Province, have been officially launched by Xinhua Indices Institute.
The reports -- China (Shenyang) rowing development index report and China (Shenyang) hutong revitalization index report -- were released at the 2026 China (Shenyang) Exchange on Integrated Development of Culture, Tourism, Sports and Commerce held on Sept. 10 in Shenyang.
Co-hosted by the Shenyang Municipal People's Government and the Brand Work Office of Xinhua News Agency, the event brought together guests from government, industry, academia and research institutions to explore new approaches and models for the integrated development of culture, tourism, sports and commerce.
The release of the two indices places the "outward-oriented sports event economy," represented by rowing, and the "inward-oriented revitalization of existing urban assets," represented by hutongs, within the same framework, establishing an annual benchmark for the integrated development of culture, tourism, sports and commerce.
Shenyang will look outward for breakthroughs through the rowing index, leverage sports events to activate its waterfront spaces and further develop itself as a rowing capital, said a municipal official. Meanwhile, the city will tap its internal potential through the hutong index, revitalizing local old hutongs via micro-renewal work.
The city is steadily advancing toward its duo goals of becoming a "rowing capital" and a "famous historical and cultural city." To achieve these goals, Shenyang has hosted the Asian Rowing U19&U23 Championships consecutively along the Hunhe River, while the "rowing in schools" program has been rolled out across the city.
Deep in the hutongs, 67 old hutongs in the city's Fangcheng area have been renovated. Laobeishi hosted more than 6,000 performances to the public throughout the year, while the Bajing coffee alley received more than 2 million visitors annually.
Guo Linwen, deputy director of the Cultural Industries Institute of Renmin University of China, suggested that Shenyang strengthen its cultural identity, break down boundaries between different business formats and apply cutting-edge technologies to enhance immersive experiences.
He recommended using length of stay, the proportion of secondary spending and the number of overnight visitors as key indicators to evaluate project performance.
The event also featured two parallel sessions -- the "Sports +" session and the session on culture, tourism and sports empowering innovation in urban consumption scenarios. (Edited by Li Xueqing with Xinhua Silk Road, lixueqing@xinhua.org)
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