| Summary: | In 2023, China is witnessing a new wave of tourism in the post-epidemic era, with a number of new cultural and tourism industry dynamics emerging, supported by government policies and new technologies. This “tourism wave” differs from previous ones in that there is a gradual downward trend in tourism destinations, as the public is no longer keen to travel in modern, economically developed big cities but rather to discover some “anti-mainstream”, “small town” destinations, The public is no longer keen to travel in the modern, economically developed big cities, but to discover the “anti-mainstream” and “small town” third and fourth tier tourist cities. Smaller cities previously less economically developed have seen new opportunities for cultural tourism development. During this period, most of the small cities that have been successful in marketing have started to be known through new media plat-forms, such as TikTok, RED, AAuto Quicker, and WeChat, to promote the city’s dining, landscape, history, and culture, in order to attract tourists and develop tourism. Some cities have now successfully attracted a large number of followers on the new media platforms through “cross-dressing videos”, “special cuisines”, and “hit spots”. Based on the development of cultural tourism in small and medium-sized cities in China, this paper analyses the future development trend of cultural tourism and how third- and fourth-level cities can use new media platforms to promote urban tourism and finally gives relevant operational suggestions.
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