An investment of 4.2 million yuan in fiscal funds has stimulated over 95 million yuan in social consumption, according to the results reported from the "roadside economy" initiative in Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. An input-output ratio of 1:22 stands out as impressive in any assessment aimed at boosting consumption. Meanwhile, in Qilian County of Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, the 153-kilometer-long "Beijia·Qilian" Highway No. 9 has also generated considerable returns. In 2025, Qilian County received 1.9585 million self-driving tourists, a year-on-year increase of nearly 40%.
In most people's understanding, the value of a road lies primarily in transportation efficiency. The focus of building and maintaining roads is typically on enabling faster travel, smoother routes, and connecting regions through efficient transit. However, the innovative practices in Haixi and Haibei prefectures have completely challenged this conventional view. Both prefectures possess unique natural and cultural landscapes, with features like deserts, salt lakes, grasslands, and snow-capped mountains lining their roadsides. Consequently, the roads have evolved beyond mere infrastructure for "getting people somewhere faster"; they have become scenic spots, commercial hubs, and even "offline commercial streets" stretching for hundreds of kilometers.
The goal of developing a roadside economy is to encourage travelers to stay and to monetize the foot traffic they generate. Service areas, traditionally places for refueling and restroom breaks, now offer more in Haixi Prefecture—visitors can rest, purchase yak meat, explore night markets, and take photos. Along Highway No. 9 in Qilian County, self-driving campsites and camping bases have been established, allowing tourists to step directly into "scenic areas" upon exiting their vehicles. Even gas stations are no longer content with just selling fuel; they now showcase a variety of local specialties and cultural creative products, enabling customers to buy souvenirs while refueling. Residents along these routes have also benefited from this economic boost, seeing a significant increase in their income.
The road is the foundation, but the economic expansion is the vitality. Although Qinghai's roadside economy has shown some promising signs, a closer look reveals several structural weaknesses. To fully realize the potential of this economic model, it is essential to address these shortcomings step by step and resolve practical challenges.
The First Challenge: Seasonal Imbalance and Pressure on Sustainable Operations
In Qinghai, the roadside economy, which relies on natural scenery and self-driving tourists, is highly seasonal. Tourist traffic in many areas is concentrated during the summer, with a sharp decline in the autumn and winter off-seasons. Consequently, operations at shops, night markets, and self-driving camps along the routes largely come to a halt. Relying solely on peak-season traffic risks turning the roadside economy into a "single-season economy," making it difficult to establish a stable and sustainable industrial model.
The Second Challenge: Overemphasis on Hardware Over Service, Leading to Inadequate Supporting Capabilities
While there has been active upgrading of service areas and roadside facilities, enriching the range of available services, significant gaps in operational support remain. A refined service system covering price control, food safety, parking management, and customer complaint resolution is not yet fully developed. During peak tourist periods, service deficiencies can quickly become apparent, damaging reputation, causing popular spots to lose their appeal rapidly, and hindering the long-term growth of the industry.
The Third Challenge: Prominent Homogenization and Lack of Core Competitiveness
The low barrier to replicating the roadside economy model can lead to a proliferation of similar网红驿站 (internet-famous rest stops), self-driving camps, and roadside specialty shops, resulting in a "same road, same look" problem. Without deep integration with local resources and distinctive cultural elements, and by merely stacking similar services and copying scenes, it is challenging to create a unique brand advantage. This often leads to homogeneous, low-end competition.
The value of the roadside economy lies in expanding it strategically. This "strategy" is found in practical actions that address development weaknesses along the routes and remove obstacles to income growth. Avoiding problems or making only superficial efforts will prevent even the best resources from translating into tangible benefits for people's livelihoods. Only by confronting the core issues with persistent effort can roadside resources be transformed into capital that enriches local residents.
Revitalizing the Off-Season Market to Overcome Seasonal Limitations
To tackle the issue of "peak summer, sluggish winter" in Qinghai's tourism market, it is not enough to rely solely on summer performance and neglect the autumn and winter lull. It is necessary to leverage local winter resources, proactively develop特色业态 (characteristic formats), recreational activities, and business operations suited for the colder months, thereby filling the operational gap during the off-season. By planning operations and services across all four seasons and staggering business formats, the disparity between peak and off-peak periods can be reduced, moving away from the被动局面 (passive situation) of "only one busy season a year" and striving for stable year-round operations.
Focusing on Service Enhancement for Simultaneous Hardware and Software Improvement
While supporting硬件设施 (hardware facilities) along the routes are now largely in place, the next priority is to address service deficiencies. Establishing unified standards and regular management for details that matter to the public—such as food safety, price regulation, parking秩序 (order), and customer complaint handling—is crucial. Moving beyond the尴尬 (awkwardness) of "prioritizing construction over operation," refined services can help retain visitor traffic, protect reputation, and prevent网红点位 (internet-famous spots) from being short-lived.
Creating Distinctive Advantages to Avoid Blind Imitation
It is essential to abandon a development approach based on simple copying. Instead, efforts should focus on leveraging the unique natural scenery, folk culture, and特色产业 (characteristic industries) of each area to create专属业态 (exclusive formats) and distinctive打卡场景 (photo-worthy scenes) tailored to local conditions. By forging differentiated paths for each route and shaping专属文旅品牌 (exclusive cultural tourism brands), roads can become more than just transportation channels; they can transform into attractive cultural tourism名片 (name cards) in their own right.
Governments calculate economic accounts, while residents calculate生活账 (accounts of daily life). People are less concerned with input-output ratios; they care about whether the road at their doorstep can lead to a more prosperous and better life. The current achievements are hard-won, but the more promising the outlook, the more important it is to remain focused on addressing weaknesses. It is vital to stabilize peak seasons, revitalize off-seasons, ensure hardware is robust, and provide considerate services. Most importantly, it is crucial to avoid blindly following trends or copying others, and instead, diligently develop and solidify各自的特色 (respective unique features). By addressing shortcomings one by one and solving challenges step by step, the roads in Qinghai can truly become a foundation for increasing people's income.
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