At this point, Dai says related parties should listen to feedback from inbound travelers to better understand their needs and pave the way for future cultural and tourism experiences design and marketing.

Studies should also be carried out on the needs of travelers from different areas, including Asia, Europe and Americas, he says.

"We have to do a good job delivering an interpretation system for the central axis, so its stories can be genuinely and vividly told," Dai notes.

Lyu Zhou, director of the National Heritage Center at Tsinghua University, says he has seen the Beijing Central Axis application for the UNESCO listing bring tremendous vitality to the capital, igniting people's love for the city and awakening cultural confidence and awareness.

Many residents have contributed their narratives to the history, and anecdotes about the axis and travel products featuring its culture have come up, he says.

Lyu says the focus of future work around the central axis lies in the full use of the area's history and cultural resources to play a positive role in conveying its value and having more people understand China.

Luo Kai, an official from the new social stratum association of the capital city's Dongcheng district, believes it's important to vividly present the central axis to the youth.

"Youth plays an important role in the protection and sustainable development of the Beijing Central Axis," says Luo, who has engaged in cultural heritage education for years.

Luo says he will continue to explore various methods, such as immersive study tours, to enhance young people's understanding of traditional culture and guide them to establish a commitment to protecting historical cultural heritage.

Ma Zhentao, a commentator with China Tourism News, proposes more efforts for the whole cultural heritage and environmental protection with a focus on optimizing the axis management mechanism, improving residents' livelihoods and exploring a new coordinated cultural heritage protection and modern urban development model.

Ma advocates the use of AI and big data in axis protection, such as intelligent analysis to predict the risk of erosion in ancient buildings to formulate repair plans in advance, and big data to analyze tourist behavior and optimize tour routes and management measures.

VR and other technologies can be employed to create high-precision digital records of important buildings and sites along the Beijing Central Axis, Ma says.

He also urges related parties to establish detailed digital archives to provide strong support for future repairs, research and exhibitions and to create a digital museum or online display platform for the Beijing Central Axis, allowing the public to learn about its history and culture with more convenience.

Having worked in inbound tourism for many years, tour guide Dou Junjie says he has deeply felt the recent heat of international travelers' enthusiasm toward the central axis.

He has offered several cultural tours to the central axis over the past few weeks.

"These tours are giving an increasingly three-dimensional, rich and colorful understanding of the capital's cultural connotations," Dou says.

He believes that 70 percent of a good tour is about comprehensive guidance and explanation and 30 percent about travel.

He says he has kept a constantly updated historical and cultural database of the Beijing Central Axis, which includes over 140 knowledge points and more than 80,000 words. This encompasses famous ancient sites, historical and cultural information and the intangible cultural heritage of Beijing, such as traditional crafts.

"I'm looking forward to taking more people, especially international travelers, on the cultural exploration of the central axis to help them better appreciate its essence," Dou says.

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