Province strives to strike a delicate balance

Yet for Liu Yanli, the center's deputy manager, the goal is not simply efficiency.

"Standards should help visitors experience the culture better," Liu says. "They are not meant to make every destination the same."

That idea lies at the heart of Zhejiang's tourism development strategy.

"Tourism services need standardization, but they cannot be completely standardized," says Chen Guangsheng, director of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism.

"Otherwise, every city becomes identical. We need to find the balance between standards and individuality."

He points to rural homestays as an example. Zhejiang has established unified requirements for hygiene, safety and service quality, while encouraging villages to preserve their own architectural styles, customs and local traditions.

"That is the balance we are striving for," Chen says. He believes the province's emphasis on standards has deep historical roots.

The Kaogongji, a Chinese crafts manual compiled more than 2,000 years ago, documented precise specifications for the production of tools and vehicles. In Zhejiang, Tang Dynasty (618-907) celadon production followed strict technical systems, while the mortise-and-tenon structure of Ningbo's Baoguo Temple later became a reference point for traditional Chinese architecture.

"The genes of standardization have been here since ancient times," Chen says.

But Zhejiang's tourism officials also insist that modern standards should leave room for creativity and emotional connection.

That philosophy is on display at the Tourism College of Zhejiang in Hangzhou.

During a recent class, associate professor Zhang Chunli guided students as they arranged themed tea tables inspired by traditional aesthetics and modern lifestyles.