Qianlong Parade Study

Two thousand years ago,Chinese emperors began their recorded tour activities.Their activities or parades are called the "hunting visit" or "inspection".In fact,by whichever name, they are referring to the activities the emperors carried out for various purposes in their own jurisdiction,a certain distance away from the capital.They would spend several days on the travel activity.From the perspective of travel history,we call it tourism.Emperor's tour has never stopped in the whole feudal dynasty.It is an effective way for the emperor to be informed of the country's political,economic and cultural situation.It is also a favorable opportunity for the emperor to visit scenic spots and historical sites.Historically, Emperor Huang,Emperor Hanwu,and Emperor Kangxi frequently went on touring.Emperor Qianlong followed the example of his grandfather and pushed the imperial parade onto the peak of tourism activities.Emperor Qianlong reigned sixty years and nearly one-sixth of the time was spent on touting. He went to the north for ancestor worship,went to Wutai Mountain in the west,Shandong in the east and traveled to the South for six times.The tour routes were quite different but they covered most of his territory.These frequent tourist activities,though with different purposes,reflected Emperor Qianlong's concerns over political stability,economic prosperity and cultural prosperity as a feudal country's supreme ruler.The tours contributed to Emperor Qianlong's mastering the country's development and resulted in effective targeted policies.Emperor Qianlong's tour activities have their own distinct characteristics:the time is long; the scope is broad;the scale is big;the traveling nature is prominent as well.Based on the analysis of the positive and the negative effects of the tour activities,we learn that:first of all, the various measures adopted to strengthen political rule,to improve economic growth,and to propel prosperous culture in the tour activities are advantageous for prosperity of the country, and meanwhile it has laid the foundation for the appearance of "the flourishing age of Emperor Kangxi and Qiardong".Secondly,the tour activities with its tourist nature have prepared massive tourism resources for present tourism.The area with the tour activities abounds in scenic spots and historical sites.As to China's tourism industry,they are valuable resources and guarantee considerable progress in tourism.Finally,because of a large scale,numerous personnel,and time-consuming preparatory work before the tour,the tour activities have consumed the massive state treasury expenditure,and to a certain extent have led to state finance's debt,and the national strength deterioration.Anyway,it is believed that Emperor Qianlong's royal tour activity consumed the massive state treasury expenditure,but it also maintained the national stability objectively,propelled a prosperous culture and economy,and promoted tourism development,which were its progressive performance.