The Gan Zhutan cultural tourism industry cluster zone is emerging as a focal point, with the Longjiang town leveraging the historic Gan Zhutan Tidal Power Station as a key industrial heritage site. Projects like the GEN Electric Field have been introduced, with over 100 million yuan invested by government and enterprises to accelerate the cluster's development. How is this area, embodying Foshan's pioneering spirit, charting a new course in the competitive tourism sector? What transformed this once-remote locale into a cultural tourism darling? As Foshan strategically develops three major tourism clusters, what sets Gan Zhutan apart? A visit to the core area in Zuotan Village, Longjiang town, provides the answers.
Examining broader trends, the cultural tourism consumption landscape is rapidly evolving. Rural micro-getaways that blend industrial heritage, water-town ecology, local culture, and a relaxed atmosphere have become a mainstream choice for weekend trips among Greater Bay Area residents.
From a cultural heritage perspective, Zuotan Village is a rare ancient settlement in Shunde that retains its original water-town layout and well-preserved industrial relics. In 1971, against all odds and facing shortages of materials, funds, technology, and equipment, tens of thousands of people from Shunde manually constructed the Gan Zhutan Tidal Power Station. The project won a National Science Conference Award in 1978 and was recognized as a provincial-level industrial heritage in 2023.
The core advantages of Gan Zhutan are difficult to replicate. Culturally, it integrates industrial heritage, water-town history, and revolutionary culture. Ecologically, it boasts 74 hectares of tranquil, non-navigable waters and 12 kilometers of waterfront. Geographically, it offers one-hour access to major Greater Bay Area cities like Guangzhou and Foshan. Industrially, it enables synergistic development between tourism, design, and cultural creation.
Zuotan Village Party Secretary Deng Fenxiong noted that Zuotan was once jokingly called the "Siberia" of Longjiang. Today, however, it is a widely known social media hotspot. To advance rural revitalization and implement the "Hundreds of Thousands of Projects" initiative, the village has hosted a Sauce Fish Cultural Festival, established Longjiang's first non-profit civil organization, and completed infrastructure upgrades. As a result, the village's collective total income has increased by approximately 30%, its volunteer team has grown to over 800 people, and public support for village affairs remains consistently above 98%.
These unique resource endowments and solid rural development foundations provide a strong base for transforming Gan Zhutan from a dormant industrial site into a trendy destination within the Greater Bay Area.
Long Zhongying, Party Secretary of Longjiang Town, stated that the short-term goal for the Gan Zhutan cultural tourism cluster is to create a trendy youth playground for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and a core micro-vacation destination in suburban Shunde. The medium to long-term goals are to establish a provincial demonstration base for industrial heritage revitalization and a benchmark cluster for the integrated development of culture, commerce, tourism, and agriculture in the Greater Bay Area. Simultaneously, it aims to empower rural revitalization through tourism, creating a Longjiang model for the deep integration of industry, city, culture, and people.
Currently, cluster development is progressing on multiple fronts. The exhibition hall and red education matrix at the Gan Zhutan Power Station are fully operational. Some old factory buildings and public spaces have undergone micro-renovations to host cultural creative spaces and specialty dining. Key projects like the Zuotan Waterfront Town Hall, the renovation of the old power station dormitories, and the landscape enhancement of the central island are steadily advancing. Preliminary planning for water sports venues and standardized camping bases is also underway.
Why Established and Emerging Brands are Flocking to Gan Zhutan
By the Gan Zhu River, preparations for the first phase opening of the GEN DIGITAL INC Electric Field project are in full swing. With a total investment exceeding 30 million yuan, the first phase is set to open by the end of June, followed by the second phase in the fourth quarter of this year. This is the first investment project by Xunpu Cultural Tourism Development Co., Ltd. in Zuotan Village. The person in charge, Zhou Xinhang, is a native of Longjiang.
Zhou Xinhang explained his decision to invest in Zuotan, citing a desire to create a quality leisure destination in his hometown. He was drawn to Zuotan's unique blend of millennia-old history, industrial heritage, and natural water-town scenery, which offers potential for park-style commerce, non-standard retail, rural business, and tourism. He also cited the supportive policies of the "Two Rivers" development zone and strong government backing, expressing optimism about the market prospects for non-standard commercial ventures and relaxed suburban micro-vacations in the Greater Bay Area.
Zhou's team conducted extensive research on benchmark projects across China, from Guangzhou's Aranya to Chengdu's LUXELAKES CPI and Hangzhou's Tianmuli. Ultimately, he chose to invest here. In his view, a project's core lies in its shareable, content-rich essence. "Creating a local cultural living theater in Zuotan" is the central pursuit of the GEN Electric Field.
The project's distinctiveness lies in its extreme emphasis on "local character." It merges the "spiritual legacy of industrial grit" with the "natural elegance of water-town charm" to shape a "vibrant, living rural community." It will feature a mix of new Chinese cuisine, international restaurants, bakeries, craft workshops, cultural retail, trendy brand collections, and hands-on experience stores.
The GEN Electric Field is not the only new venture in Zuotan's tourism ecosystem. Within the Gan Zhutan Power Station complex, Shunde's century-old brand "Minxin Laopu" opened in January this year. Additionally, brands like Zhizhuo Coffee, Fu Tea, Qianqiu GLATQ, and HUB Coffee have already set up shop, attracting over 5,000 daily visitors during holidays. "I've been here to check in many times; it's especially beautiful at sunset," said a resident, Ms. He.
"These were all old factory buildings before. Seeing it so lively now makes us both happy and proud," Deng Fenxiong remarked with emotion.
Multi-Party Collaboration Drives Gan Zhutan Forward
In March of this year, Foshan's "2026 Key Task List for Promoting High-Quality Development in the Towns and Villages of the Surrounding Xijiang-Beijiang Pilot Zone" called for the comprehensive acceleration of three major cultural tourism industry clusters: the "Jizi Bay," the area around Xiqiao Mountain, and Gan Zhutan. Each cluster is to add at least one landmark cultural tourism project within the year.
This year, Longjiang Town will focus on five key areas: emphasizing operations, upgrading formats, shaping IP, strengthening industry, and optimizing supporting facilities. It aims to open the Zuotan Waterfront Town Hall project on schedule, host branded water sports events, cultural creative markets, and trendy festivals, and continue to build the "Come to Longjiang, It's Trendy and Fun" IP. The town also plans to attract a batch of high-quality cultural, creative, trendy, homestay, and dining brands.
Deng Fenxiong hopes that tourism will drive the integrated development of a characteristic agriculture sector centered on sauce fish, the associated agricultural product processing industry, and the river-fresh cuisine sector that supports tourism consumption. He looks forward to two key changes in Zuotan Village over the next five years through tourism-led development: a more prominent "Gan Zhu River Fresh" brand and a new leap forward in the agricultural farming structure.
With the late-June opening of the GEN Electric Field's first phase approaching, Zhou Xinhang is busier than ever. "If the Zuotan project achieves its expected goals, meaning we successfully navigate the journey from 0 to 1, it could be replicated in many other places," he said. He is also planning deeper involvement, looking at the village's old seafood restaurants and markets awaiting renovation. "Once the people come in, everything else will naturally follow."
Fifty-five years have passed since the manual construction of the power station by over ten thousand people began in 1971. Today, industrial heritage is being reborn as a trendy destination. A new path for cultural tourism, deeply integrating industrial heritage, rural commerce, and ecological waterfronts, is gradually unfolding across the map of the "Two Rivers" pilot zone. A new beginning for Gan Zhutan's cultural tourism story is now underway.
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