The cultural and tourism industry in Tai'an achieved an added value of 22.93 billion yuan ($3.16 billion) in the first three quarters, accounting for 9 percent of the city's GDP, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from the same period last year. 

The cultural industry saw added value of 9.59 billion yuan, while the tourism industry racked up 13.34 billion yuan. 

According to data released by Mount Tai Scenic Area, as of 15:20 on Oct 21, the cumulative number of visitors to Mount Tai this year has exceeded 8 million, a growth of 121.96 percent compared to the same period in 2019, setting a new record. 

This year, Tai'an has been beefing up efforts to promote the so-called "four transformations": shifting from a ticket-based economy to a more comprehensive economy, moving from Mount Tai tourism to all-round tourism, transitioning from urban flow to development increment, and changing focus from resource advantages to industrial advantages, in order to unleash the vitality of its cultural and tourism market. 

To further develop and strengthen market entities, Tai'an conducted surveys on 2,263 cultural, sports, and entertainment enterprises in the city, after which it selected 12 to cultivate further. 

As of the end of September, there were 5,800 market entities in the culture, sports, and entertainment industry, an increase of 11.12 percent year-on-year. 

Since the beginning of this year, Tai'an has added 89 premium tourism standardized enterprises, reaching 472 in total, and added 14 cultural and creative standardized enterprises, for a total of 86. 

Tai'an has also launched 10 subsidy policies focusing on improving industrial quality, expanding the cultural and tourism market, and stimulating consumption in the cultural and tourism market to support for 10 areas including improving local scenic spots, cultivating backbone enterprises, developing cultural parks, and creating characteristic blocks.